Cryptocurrency in Algeria: prohibited in 2018, criminal since 2025
In short. Algeria banned crypto in 2018 and criminalised it in 2025. The earlier rule sat in a finance law and prohibited buying, selling, using and holding virtual currency without attaching a criminal penalty of its own. Law 25-10, published in the Official Journal on 24 July 2025, closed that gap: issuing, selling, buying, holding, using, mining, storing and promoting digital assets now carry prison terms and fines, doubled for a second offence.
- STATUS
- CriminalisedLaw 25-10 of 24 July 2025
- WHAT IT COVERS
- Issuing to promotingholding and mining included
- PRISON
- 2 months to 1 yearon conviction
- FINES
- Up to 1m dinarsdoubled for a repeat offence
- EARLIER RULE
- Finance Law 2018Article 117 prohibited the same acts
- LEGAL TENDER
- Nothe dinar stays the only legal money
Article 117 came first
The 2018 finance law took effect on 1 January of that year, and its Article 117 prohibited the purchase, sale, use and possession of virtual currency.
That was among the earliest outright prohibitions anywhere, and it went further than most by naming possession. Holding coins in a wallet, without buying or selling anything, fell inside the text. Banks and financial institutions could not facilitate crypto transactions either.
The article carried no penalty scale of its own, which left prosecutors relying on general provisions.
Law 25-10 added the criminal penalties
Algeria published Law 25-10 in the Official Journal on 24 July 2025.
The text reaches the whole chain: issuing digital assets, selling and buying them, using them as a means of payment or investment, holding a wallet, mining them, storing them and promoting them. Conviction carries imprisonment of two months to one year and a fine, with reported maximums around one million dinars. A repeat offence doubles the fine.
That list runs longer than most. Prohibitions elsewhere usually stop at exchange and payment and leave a private holder alone, while Algeria named the holder, the miner and the person who advertises.
What the state says it is protecting against
Authorities have justified the law by pointing to the opacity of decentralised assets and the illicit flows they say those assets enable, money laundering foremost among them.
Electricity is a second concern. Mining draws power in a country that manages its supply carefully, and the 2025 text bars it alongside everything else rather than regulating it separately.
What this means if you are moving there
Algeria holds one of the strictest positions in the world, and it reaches you as an individual, not only businesses.
Reading the framework closely will not find you a permitted route, because none exists. Holding a wallet counts as an offence, and so do mining and promotion, with prison terms attached to all of them since 2025. Anyone with existing holdings arriving in Algeria should take legal advice before the move rather than after it.
Allowed
- Hold dinars, the only money with legal tender status here
- Read Law 25-10 and the 2018 finance law, which set out the position in full
- Take legal advice on holdings acquired before arriving in the country
- Follow the official journal, where any future change would appear first
Restricted
- Buying, selling or using virtual currency, prohibited since the 2018 finance law
- Holding a wallet, which the 2025 law names as an offence in its own right
- Mining or storing digital assets, both listed in Law 25-10
- Promoting digital assets, which the same law treats as an offence
How the rules took shape
The finance law takes effect on 1 January. Article 117 prohibits the purchase, sale, use and possession of virtual currency.
The prohibition stands without a dedicated penalty scale, and prosecutors rely on general provisions.
Law 25-10 appears in the Official Journal on the 24th, criminalising issuing, buying, selling, holding, using, mining, storing and promoting.
Penalties settle at two months to one year in prison and fines reaching about a million dinars, doubled on a repeat offence.
No official has signalled a change of direction.
Worth knowing
The 2025 law is among the harshest anywhere: merely holding cryptocurrency is a criminal offence, let alone mining or exchanging it.
Common questions
Is crypto illegal in Algeria?
Yes, and since July 2025 it is criminal. Law 25-10 attaches prison terms and fines to issuing, buying, selling, holding, using, mining, storing and promoting digital assets.
Can I just hold coins without trading?
No. Both the 2018 finance law and the 2025 law name possession, so holding a wallet is itself an offence.
What are the penalties?
Two months to one year in prison and a fine, with reported maximums around one million dinars. A second offence doubles the fine.
Is mining treated separately?
No. Law 25-10 lists mining alongside every other activity rather than regulating it on its own terms.
Why did Algeria tighten the rule?
Authorities point to the opacity of decentralised assets and the money laundering they say it enables, with electricity consumption an additional concern.
Sources
Other countries
Updated 21.08.2026 · this is reference material, not investment or tax advice