Is crypto legal in Lebanon? Regulation & rules (2026)

Since at least 2013, the Banque du Liban has issued circulars warning commercial banks and financial institutions against handling crypto-related transactions, effectively severing formal banking channels for the sector.

CMA Official Gazette Announcement 30 (12 February 2018) explicitly prohibited all CMA-licensed financial institutions from issuing, marketing, advertising, or trading cryptocurrencies — for their own account or on behalf of clients — citing volatility, AML/CFT risks, and absence of central-bank backing.

No Lebanese statute explicitly criminalises individual crypto ownership or peer-to-peer trading. Crypto use surged after the 2019 financial collapse; USDT is widely used as a de-facto savings and remittance instrument, with an estimated 430,000+ users by 2026.

Following the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, Economy Minister Amer Bisat met Binance executives and confirmed that an inter-ministerial committee has begun laying the groundwork for a digital-asset regulatory framework; a BDL official has advocated for an EU MiCA-style model.

The BDL explored a CBDC from 2017 onward and announced a 2021 launch that never materialised; the project is considered stalled due to institutional credibility concerns following the banking collapse and the sanctioning of former Governor Riad Salameh.

Lebanon applies a 15% capital-gains tax to individual crypto profits and taxes crypto received by businesses as ordinary income. The 2024 Budget Law introduced enhanced crypto-transaction reporting obligations effective 1 January 2025 and permits crypto tax settlement in foreign currency; staking and airdrop treatment is not specifically legislated.