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

The National Bank of Moldova has published an official position confirming that virtual currency activity is not regulated, does not fall under the e-money law, and that the BNM has not granted any authorizations for virtual currency trading platforms.

MONEYVAL's 2025 Third Enhanced Follow-Up Report on Moldova rated the country non-compliant (NC) on FATF Recommendation 15, citing insufficient regulatory framework, limited institutional capacity to monitor VA transactions, and an overall high ML/TF residual risk in the virtual-assets sector.

The Ministry of Finance has drafted a bill introducing rules for issuers, investors, and service providers across three crypto-asset categories (e-money tokens, asset-referenced tokens, other crypto-assets). The law will enter into force six months after parliamentary adoption, targeting end-2026. Crypto payments will remain prohibited.

Using cryptocurrencies as a means of payment is currently prohibited in Moldova under existing currency and payment services law; the draft bill preserves this prohibition and does not confer legal-tender status on any digital asset.

Under existing general tax law, profits from crypto transactions converted to fiat are subject to a 12% income tax; crypto-to-crypto trades are not taxed; mining and professional trading income is taxed at 18%; crypto exchange transactions are VAT-exempt; annual transactions above ~€10,000 must be reported.

A Council of Europe–EU Partnership for Good Governance workshop brought together the National Bank, NCFM, OPML, and General Prosecutor's Office in 2024–2025 to discuss best practices and a national strategy for licensing and supervising VASPs, signalling institutional coordination ahead of the draft law.