Is Crypto Legal in Saudi Arabia? 2025 Reality Check
If you’re asking “Is crypto legal in Saudi Arabia in 2025?”, the short answer is: no, not in any straightforward retail sense. Crypto is not legal tender in Saudi Arabia, and a government standing committee plus the Ministry of Finance have warned that trading virtual currencies like Bitcoin is illegal, unlicensed and outside the Kingdom’s regulatory framework. At the same time, there is still no dedicated “crypto law”, so individuals who use foreign platforms or crypto products do so in a regulatory grey zone, with banks largely barred from crypto activity and no local consumer protection.
Introduction
Before we go deeper, here’s the short version you need as an investor: crypto is not legal tender in Saudi Arabia, and regulators treat retail virtual currency trading as illegal or unlicensed activity, especially for banks and licensed firms.However, there is still no standalone “Crypto Act”, and Saudi policy is evolving alongside broader Vision 2030 digital-payments and CBDC projects that matter for US, UK, German and wider EU investors.
Electronic payments now account for around 79% of Saudi retail transactions in 2024, up from about 70% in 2023 a clear signal that the Kingdom is pushing regulated digital rails, not public crypto, as its default modernization path. For US and European investors, it’s more accurate to think of Saudi crypto exposure as cross-border, highly regulated financial plumbing, not a classic “onshore trading” market.
Is Crypto Legal in Saudi Arabia in 2025?
Quick Answer What Is the Current Legal Status of Bitcoin and Crypto in KSA?
In 2025, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not legal tender in Saudi Arabia, and no entity is licensed to offer retail virtual currency trading onshore. A 2018 “standing committee” including the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), Capital Market Authority (CMA) and Ministry of Interior warned that virtual currency trading (such as Bitcoin) is illegal, unlicensed and unregulated in the Kingdom. As of late 2024, the Law Library of Congress and major legal guides still note no specific crypto statute, but confirm that crypto operates in a risk-averse grey zone with strong regulatory discouragement.
In practice, that means.
No obligation for anyone in KSA to accept crypto as payment.
No local spot exchanges, no licensed retail brokers.
Use of foreign platforms is at the user’s own risk and may trigger enforcement if it breaches financial or AML rules.
Legal Tender vs. “Illegal to Trade” What Regulators Actually Said.
“Not legal tender” simply means you cannot demand that merchants or the government accept Bitcoin the way they must accept Saudi Riyals (SAR). It does not automatically mean criminalization.
In Saudi Arabia, however, the 2018 standing committee went further, explicitly warning that virtual currencies such as Bitcoin are not approved as official currencies and that no parties or individuals are licensed for such activities.
Separately, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) stated that virtual currencies are not recognized by legal entities, lie outside the regulatory framework and are not traded by local financial institutions linking them with fraud, illegitimate activity and high volatility.That’s why some trackers and law firms label Saudi Arabia as “banned” or “effectively prohibited”, while others like the Law Library of Congress stress that there is no explicit criminal code section but an extremely restrictive environment.
For investors in New York, London, Frankfurt or Paris, Saudi Arabia sits materially stricter than the EU’s MiCA or the UK FCA’s regime, and closer in practical effect to Kuwait or Qatar’s conservative positions.
Who Regulates Crypto in Saudi Arabia? SAMA, CMA, MOF and the Standing Committee.
Three main state actors shape Saudi crypto policy.
Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) oversees banks, payment institutions, remittances, and the Regulatory Sandbox that can host blockchain and tokenisation pilots.
Capital Market Authority (CMA) regulates securities, funds and fintech investment products, including any token that might be a security or fund unit.
Ministry of Finance (MOF) issues policy-level warnings (like the 2019 statement against virtual currencies).
These bodies work together through a standing committee for awareness on dealing in unauthorized securities in the FX and virtual-currency space, which is the source of the 2018 warning that underpins many “Saudi crypto is illegal” headlines.
Bitcoin Trading, Exchanges and Banking Bans in KSA.
Are Bitcoin and Altcoin Trades Allowed for Residents in KSA?
Formally, there are no licensed spot crypto exchanges in Saudi Arabia, and the 2018 standing committee statement treats virtual currency trading as illegal and unlicensed activity. In everyday life, residents in Riyadh or Jeddah who want crypto typically use offshore platforms, often funded from non-Saudi bank accounts, but there is no Saudi consumer protection if something goes wrong.
For US, UK and German expats working on NEOM or Riyadh mega-projects, the risk profile looks roughly like this.
Your KSA bank and employer are subject to SAMA rules that discourage any crypto exposure.
Your home-country broker (say a UK FCA-regulated platform in London or an SEC-regulated broker in New York) has its own rules on onboarding Saudi residents.
Using VPNs or “disguised residency” to access restricted platforms may breach both platform T&Cs and local law this is not a safe workaround and should not be treated as legal advice or an endorsed strategy.
Banking, P2P Platforms and Onshore Payments Why Are Banks Restricted?
Banks and payment institutions in Saudi Arabia are prohibited from engaging in cryptocurrency transactions without explicit SAMA approval.That restriction is why you don’t see domestic SAR on-ramps, crypto debit cards or merchants in Riyadh advertising “Bitcoin accepted here”.
From a compliance angle.
Card funding and bank transfers to obvious crypto exchanges may be blocked or questioned by Saudi banks trying to comply with SAMA expectations and FATF “virtual asset” guidance.
Onshore merchants are building around Google Pay and Alipay+, not Bitcoin, as part of Vision 2030’s e-payments strategy.
For EU/UK/US banks serving clients with Saudi ties, crypto flows can become heightened-risk corridors, especially when combined with GCC data-localisation rules and Open Banking APIs described in Saudi cloud and fintech guidance.
If you’re designing multi-cloud or backend architectures for fintechs serving KSA, Mak It Solutions already covers this pattern in depth in its guides on GCC data localisation, Middle East cloud providers and multi-cloud strategy for GCC CIOs.
How Can Individuals in or Connected to Saudi Arabia Get Crypto Exposure Legally?
For most US, UK, German and EU investors, the safest path is indirect exposure outside Saudi Arabia, rather than onshore spot trading. In practice this can mean.
Using regulated products in your home market (e.g., Bitcoin ETPs in Frankfurt, UK-approved crypto ETPs, US futures ETFs) instead of direct KSA-based spot trading.
Holding assets with FCA, BaFin, SEC or MiFID-regulated custodians, making sure their client-onboarding policies explicitly allow Saudi residents or KSA-linked entities.
For US tax residents in Riyadh, or a London-based director of a German GmbH with KSA contracts, synchronising advice from local Saudi counsel and home-state tax and securities lawyers is essential before you transact.
If you’re an institutional player building infrastructure for this (trading APIs, AML systems, cross-border data flows), our work on backend development for Saudi & UAE growth, DevSecOps best practices for US & Europe and cloud cost optimisation can help you design safer, audit-ready platforms.
Saudi Arabia’s Cryptocurrency Regulatory Framework, Sandboxes and Licences.
Does Saudi Arabia Have a Crypto Licence in 2025?
As of late 2025, Saudi Arabia has no dedicated virtual-asset or VASP licence, unlike the UAE’s VARA or the EU’s MiCA passport. Legal directories and specialist consultancies consistently stress that there is no formal crypto-exchange licensing regime yet, even though regulators are clearly preparing for one.
For US, UK or EU firms serving Saudi clients remotely:
You are primarily governed by home-state law (MiCA, FCA, BaFin, SEC/CFTC/FinCEN) plus FATF Travel Rule duties when dealing with KSA-linked wallets.
But Saudi warnings and SAMA policy still matter for example, local banks may refuse to touch your flows, even if your own licence is impeccable.
Fintech Saudi, SAMA & CMA Sandboxes Where Crypto Actually Lives Today.
Today, most serious digital-asset innovation in KSA sits inside regulatory sandboxes or tightly scoped pilots:
SAMA’s Regulatory Sandbox and CMA’s sandbox programmes allow fintechs to test new payment and capital-market ideas, including blockchain, tokenisation and digital rails, in a controlled environment.
Typical acceptable pilots: tokenised sukuk or funds, DLT-based cross-border payments, trade-finance tokenisation and open-banking rails, rather than “launching a public meme coin in Riyadh”.
These sandboxes are embedded in a broader Vision 2030 fintech strategy, which aims to grow the KSA fintech market to several billion dollars by 2030.
If you’re a SaaS or API provider thinking about a KSA rollout, start by mapping your cloud and data-residency architecture (see Mak It’s analysis of Middle East cloud providers, edge vs cloud for AI workloads, and future of cloud hosting) before you even apply to a sandbox.
Cross-Border Compliance.
FATF now expects virtual-asset service providers (VASPs) to apply its Recommendations (including the Travel Rule) to cross-border crypto flows, and Saudi Arabia is an FATF member.For an EU or UK platform onboarding customers from Saudi IPs, that means:
Applying MiCA (for EU) and FCA crypto-asset marketing rules (for UK) to KSA-resident clients, including clear risk warnings and restrictions on bonuses.
Handling GDPR/DSGVO and UK-GDPR requirements on cross-border data transfers, especially if you’re storing KSA user data in US cloud regions rather than EU or GCC sovereign zones.
For German BaFin-regulated providers, applying the same strict AML/KYC controls you’d use for higher-risk third countries, even though Saudi isn’t on FATF “grey lists”.
US firms must overlay SEC/CFTC product rules (for securities and derivatives), plus FinCEN money-services-business and Travel Rule standards when dealing with Saudi counterparties. ([Reuters][16]) Combined, this stack means many serious platforms prefer institutional or B2B2B models over retail KSA marketing.
CBDC, Stablecoins and Vision 2030 How Digital Riyals Are Changing the Conversation.
Project Aber, Project mBridge and SAMA’s CBDC Pilots.
While public crypto is constrained, Saudi Arabia is all-in on CBDC experimentation. SAMA and the UAE Central Bank ran Project Aber, a wholesale CBDC pilot for cross-border interbank settlement, which successfully tested a dual-issued digital currency for KSA–UAE payments.
In 2024, Saudi Arabia joined Project mBridge, the BIS-linked multi-CBDC platform that reached minimum viable product (MVP) stage in mid-2024.The project connects central banks in China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the UAE and now Saudi Arabia for real-value cross-border CBDC transactions. This could eventually touch oil and commodity trade settlement, although officials and the BIS have been explicit that mBridge is not a geopolitical sanctions-evasion tool.
Globally, around 130–135 countries, representing roughly 98% of global GDP, are now exploring CBDCs.Saudi Arabia is positioning itself near the front of that pack on wholesale rails, even while staying conservative on retail crypto.
Regulated Stablecoins and Tokenised Assets What Might Be Allowed Before Retail Crypto?
Given the stance on speculative retail tokens, a realistic scenario is “stable before volatile”:
Bank-issued SAR tokens or permissioned stablecoins for institutional payments and trade-finance, under SAMA supervision.
Tokenised sukuk, funds and RWAs (real-world assets) listed on regulated exchanges, possibly bridging Riyadh with London, Frankfurt and Dubai.
Tight alignment with how the EU treats e-money tokens and asset-referenced tokens under MiCA, and with UK/US debates on stablecoin legislation.
Put simply: a regulated, Shariah-screened token representing a sukuk or fund share is far more likely to be tolerated than a permissionless meme coin traded on a retail app in Riyadh.
How Could CBDCs and Regulated Stablecoins Change Saudi Arabia’s Stance on Bitcoin by 2030?
By 2030, a realistic best case is that Saudi Arabia draws a clear line between:
State money (CBDC Riyal used for wholesale and possibly retail payments).
Tightly regulated investment tokens (tokenised sukuk, funds, perhaps some stablecoins).
High-risk speculative coins, which remain heavily restricted for retail.
In a stricter scenario, the success of digital Riyals and regulated rails leads to an even tougher clampdown on unregulated crypto, especially if global enforcement against privacy coins and mixers intensifies. For US, UK, German and EU banks engaged with Riyadh, NEOM or giga-project financing, that means assuming CBDC-friendly but crypto-cautious rails and designing systems (APIs, AML tooling, sovereign KSA hosting) accordingly.
Tax, AML and Shariah Considerations for Crypto in Saudi Arabia.
Shariah Views on Crypto Speculation vs. Tokenised Real-World Assets
Islamic scholars are not unified on crypto. Many point to gharar (excessive uncertainty) and maysir (gambling) risks in volatile, unbacked tokens, particularly where trading looks more like high-leverage speculation than real-economy investment.Others see more potential in asset-backed tokens (for example, tokenised sukuk or real-estate cash flows) that behave like conventional investment instruments on new rails.
Regional Islamic-finance centres like Dubai and Kuala Lumpur have issued Shariah guidance that distinguishes between payment, speculative and asset-backed use cases. Saudi Arabia tends to sit on the more conservative side of this spectrum, especially for retail trading, while still exploring tokenisation as a tool for capital-markets growth.
Crypto Tax, Accounting and Reporting for Saudi and Foreign Firms.
Saudi Arabia does not yet have crypto-specific tax legislation, but that does not mean tax is irrelevant. Income and gains involving tokens can interact with Zakat, corporate income tax and VAT once they touch Saudi entities or books.Under IFRS, most crypto assets held by corporates are treated as intangible assets measured at cost or fair value, which has implications for impairment, revaluation and audit evidence.
For a Frankfurt-based exchange or a London fintech earning KSA-linked crypto revenues, the questions include.
How to recognise revenue, custody liabilities and hedging instruments in IFRS accounts.
Whether KSA-related income creates a permanent establishment or other Saudi tax nexus.
How auditors will test wallet ownership, private-key controls and AML processes, a topic firms like Grant Thornton highlight for the Saudi market.
AML, Sanctions and Cross-Border Risk What Compliance Teams Must Watch
From an AML/sanctions perspective, KSA-linked crypto flows sit at the intersection of:
FATF virtual-asset recommendations and Travel Rule, which expect full originator/beneficiary information for cross-border transfers.
US OFAC, EU, and UK sanctions regimes, given that Saudi trade touches London, Frankfurt, New York and Dubai.
Saudi-specific expectations under SAMA and CMA for transaction monitoring, suspicious-activity reporting and data-localisation.
For MiCA- or FCA-regulated firms, the practical bottom line is:
Treat KSA-related crypto flows as heightened-risk corridors, even if they’re fully legal in your home market.
Embed KYC, Travel Rule compliance, EDD and geo-risk scoring into your architecture; Mak It’s content on DevSecOps, GCC data localisation and GCC cloud strategies is a useful place to start scoping this.
How to Engage with Crypto Around Saudi Arabia Without Breaking the Rules.
For Individuals and Expats Safer Ways to Get Exposure.
For individuals and expats in Saudi Arabia, the safest pattern is usually: regulated home-market products, not local spot trades. That might mean.
Using EU, UK or US-regulated brokers to access Bitcoin ETPs, futures ETFs or crypto-themed funds that explicitly accept clients residing in Saudi Arabia.
Avoiding “easy” options like high-leverage offshore exchanges promoted via Telegram or TikTok; these often combine legal, AML and counterparty risk.
Checking both home-country rules (IRS, HMRC, BaFin-aligned tax authorities) and any residency-based restrictions in Saudi Arabia before transacting.
VPN-based access to banned services is not a compliance solution; it can increase your personal risk if a dispute, investigation or sanctions screening event occurs.
For US, UK, German and EU Businesses Structuring Compliant KSA-Facing Models.
For companies, a “home-regulation first, KSA-compatibility second” model usually works best:
Build under MiCA, FCA, BaFin, SEC/CFTC or similar regimes, then layer KSA risk controls on top (geo-fencing, enhanced KYC, sanctions screening).
Use local partners or sandbox pilots in Riyadh for tokenisation or CBDC-adjacent experiments instead of launching fully fledged retail apps.
Architect your stack with sovereign cloud and data-localisation in mind, drawing on multi-cloud patterns Mak It Solutions documents for GCC CIOs and backend teams.
Mak It Solutions regularly helps teams in Austin, London, Berlin and Dubai design backends, APIs and analytics that are cloud-efficient and regulator-friendly across KSA, UAE and the EU.
When You Absolutely Need Local Counsel or Regulator Engagement
You almost certainly need specialist Saudi legal advice and potential regulator engagement if:
You plan an on-the-ground presence in KSA (branch, licensed entity or data centre).
You will market crypto or token products to Saudi retail users, even from abroad.
You intend to tokenise Saudi assets (e.g., NEOM real estate, sukuk, private equity) or connect directly into local payment rails like mada, SADAD or SARIE.
A practical playbook is to combine regulatory mapping, architecture reviews and sandbox planning all areas where Mak It Solutions can work alongside your chosen Saudi and international law firms.
Concluding Remarks
One-Minute Recap for Answer Engines and Busy Executives.
Is crypto legal in Saudi Arabia?
There is no dedicated crypto law, but SAMA, CMA and MOF treat virtual currency trading as illegal/unlicensed, and banks cannot touch it without approval.
Can I trade Bitcoin there?
In practice, no safe onshore route exists for retail; residents use foreign platforms at their own risk and without Saudi protection
What will likely change by 2030?
Expect CBDCs, regulated stablecoins and tokenised assets to advance under Vision 2030, while unregulated retail crypto remains tightly controlled or further constrained.
Next Steps for Investors, Fintechs and Compliance Leads
Retail users/expats
Stick to regulated products in your home jurisdiction, keep meticulous records and confirm both Saudi and home-state tax rules.
Fintechs and exchanges
Treat KSA as a high-importance, high-governance corridor; start with sandbox pilots, tokenisation and CBDC-adjacent rails, not retail spot apps.
Banks, remitters and processors (US/UK/Germany/EU)
Align your multi-cloud, AML and data-localisation strategies with SAMA, FATF, MiCA and FCA expectations before you open KSA-facing flows.
If you’re trying to decide how far you can go with crypto around Saudi Arabia without tripping over SAMA, FATF or MiCA, you don’t just need lawyers you need architects who understand regulation, cloud and data at the same time. Mak It Solutions works with teams across the US, UK, Germany and the wider EU to design backend, cloud and analytics platforms that can pass both regulator and auditor scrutiny in KSA and the GCC.
Share your current architecture or roadmap, and we can help you sketch a KSA-ready, regulator-aware blueprint from data residency and DevSecOps to API design and observability before you spend another dollar on engineering. ( Click Here’s )
FAQs
Q : Can foreigners legally use offshore crypto exchanges while living in Saudi Arabia?
A : Foreigners living in Saudi Arabia are subject to Saudi rules and warnings, even if they hold foreign passports. Official statements treat virtual currency trading as illegal/unlicensed and warn that crypto lies outside the regulatory framework, so using offshore exchanges from a Riyadh IP address is inherently high-risk.Some expats maintain brokerage accounts in London, New York or Frankfurt and trade from there under home-state rules, but this still requires careful tax, AML and residency analysis with qualified counsel in both jurisdictions.
Q : Is Binance or Coinbase officially allowed to operate in Saudi Arabia in 2025?
A : As of late 2025, no major global crypto exchange has announced a full retail licence issued by Saudi authorities, and there is no dedicated VASP regime under which such licences would be granted.Some platforms may allow account registration from Saudi residents under their general terms, but that does not mean SAMA or CMA has approved them for onshore activity. Always check the platform’s own country-eligibility list and seek legal advice before assuming you are permitted to trade from within KSA.
Q : How does Saudi Arabia’s approach to crypto compare with the UAE and Qatar?
A : Within the GCC, Saudi Arabia follows a cautious, banking-centric model, pushing CBDCs and tokenised finance while discouraging public crypto trading.The UAE, by contrast, has created specialist regimes such as Dubai’s VARA and Abu Dhabi’s financial-free-zone frameworks that license exchanges and VASPs, becoming the region’s main crypto hub. Qatar has historically been very restrictive, though it is now experimenting with limited digital-asset frameworks in specific zones. ([Carnegie Endowment][6]) For US and EU firms, Saudi should be treated as more conservative than the UAE and closer to Qatar/Kuwait in terms of retail crypto permissiveness.
Q : What should a UK or EU fintech check before offering a crypto card or wallet to Saudi customers?
A : A UK or EU fintech should first confirm its home-state permissions (MiCA authorization, FCA registration, BaFin licence) and then assess whether Saudi residents are in or out of scope for its target market. Key checks include: KSA geo-fencing and marketing restrictions; how card or wallet flows interact with SAMA rules on banks and payment institutions; data-localisation duties if storing KSA customer data; and Travel Rule obligations for cross-border transfers. Integrating strong KYC, sanctions screening and clear disclosures that services are not endorsed by Saudi regulators is critical before onboarding any KSA-linked users.
Q : Could Saudi Arabia’s CBDC or mBridge participation eventually make cross-border Bitcoin payments easier or harder?
A : CBDC and mBridge projects are designed to make regulated interbank and wholesale flows faster and cheaper, not to enhance Bitcoin rails.In the near term, successful CBDC platforms may actually make unregulated cross-border Bitcoin flows less attractive, because banks will have a compliant alternative for instant settlement and supervisors will have clearer visibility. Over the longer term, some regulated gateways might bridge between CBDC systems and tokenised assets, but that is more likely to involve regulated stablecoins or tokenised securities than direct Bitcoin remittances.