Morocco Curated

DeFi Intel Research Desk2026-07-14Africa

Is crypto legal in Morocco? (2026)

No — cryptocurrency is banned in Morocco. Current status: Banned — 2017 exchange-control prohibition still in force. Oversight sits with Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM) / AMMC / Office des Changes. Full details — governing law, licensing, tax and dated enforcement history — follow below (last reviewed 2026-07-14).

Framework: November 2017 prohibition (Office des Changes / Bank Al-Maghrib — crypto transactions contrary to exchange regulations) + Draft Bill No. 42.25 (published November 2025, not yet enacted).

Morocco is the clearest case of the adoption paradox in North Africa: a nearly nine-year-old prohibition coexisting with one of the continent's largest crypto-holding populations, and a fully drafted replacement law that has not yet crossed the finish line. The ban dates to November 2017, when the Office des Changes (the foreign-exchange authority) announced that transactions made using virtual currencies violated the country's exchange regulations; together with Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM), it has since classified crypto transactions as contrary to exchange-control rules because they involve constituting assets abroad without prior authorisation. There is no crypto-specific statute — the prohibition operates entirely through exchange-control law, which is also what makes it enforceable against ordinary holders.

The official position began shifting in November 2024, when BAM governor Abdellatif Jouahri announced that a draft digital-asset law was in the adoption process, citing four aims: protecting investors, guaranteeing market integrity and combating fraud, supporting financial innovation, and preserving monetary stability. At GITEX Africa 2025, BAM's general director said the draft had moved to the Ministry of Economy and Finance for a technical committee to steer adoption. The concrete text arrived in November 2025 as Draft Bill No. 42.25, prepared by the Ministry of Economy and Finance with BAM and the capital-markets authority AMMC. It defines crypto-assets as digital representations of value or rights tradable via blockchain and recognises them as financial instruments; assigns the AMMC supervision of token issuance and licensing of digital-asset service providers (trading, custody, advisory); gives BAM oversight of stablecoins; and plugs AML into a National Financial Intelligence Authority. It distinguishes utility tokens from asset-referenced tokens, excludes CBDCs, NFTs and mining from scope, and imposes white-paper disclosure, fee and risk transparency, client identification, 10-year record-keeping and a three-level sanctions ladder (disciplinary, financial, criminal).

Crucially, none of that is law yet. As of this review (14 July 2026), Bill 42.25 remains in the adoption and legislative-review process with no enacted framework in force and no published timeline for final passage — and the 2017 prohibition continues to be actively enforced (see below). Meanwhile the paradox deepens: roughly six million Moroccans — about 16% of the population — held crypto in 2024, up 60% in five years; Morocco ranked 24th globally in Chainalysis's 2025 adoption index and recorded the highest crypto transaction value in North Africa in 2023. BAM has also run a parallel CBDC track since 2019, completing an initial retail (P2P) e-dirham payment experiment by July 2025.

Tax treatment

There is no crypto tax regime. Because crypto transactions are treated as violations of exchange regulations, Moroccan law offers no basis for declaring or taxing crypto gains, and no capital-gains or income-tax guidance for crypto exists — residents holding crypto face exchange-control liability rather than a tax bill. Draft Bill 42.25 as published is a regulatory and licensing text; the tax treatment that would accompany a legalised market has not been set out in the sources we track (pending verification once implementing legislation appears).

• Capital-gains rate (general): N/A — the underlying activity is prohibited
• Holding-period rule: N/A

Travel rule applicability

Status: no. Morocco has no VASP licensing or registration regime, so FATF Recommendation 16 (the Travel Rule) is not implemented for cryptoasset transfers — there are no licensed Moroccan VASPs to originate or receive compliant transfer data, and Morocco-linked flows reach offshore venues through P2P and informal channels without standard originator/beneficiary fields. The broader AML picture is stronger than the crypto gap suggests: FATF grey-listed Morocco in February 2021 and removed it in February 2023 (decision at the 20–24 February 2023 plenary) after the kingdom completed its action plan on supervision, beneficial-ownership transparency, FIU capacity and targeted financial sanctions. Bill 42.25 would extend that AML architecture to crypto via the new National Financial Intelligence Authority.

Notable events and enforcement

• November 2017. The Office des Changes declares transactions in virtual currencies contrary to exchange regulations; BAM aligns, framing crypto purchases as unauthorised constitution of assets abroad.
• 2019. BAM begins central-bank digital currency research (e-dirham).
• February 2021 → February 2023. Morocco enters, then exits, the FATF grey list after completing its AML/CFT action plan.
• November 2024. Governor Jouahri announces the draft crypto law is in the adoption process.
• 2025 (GITEX Africa). BAM says the draft law sits with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, with a technical committee overseeing adoption; by July 2025 BAM completes an initial retail P2P CBDC experiment.
• November 2025. Draft Bill No. 42.25 is published — licensing under AMMC, stablecoins under BAM, utility vs asset-referenced token categories, three-tier sanctions.
• May 2026. The Office des Changes sends written enforcement notices to individuals identified as having constituted crypto-assets abroad generating sales to Moroccan residents between March and August 2025, giving 30 days to respond before possible contentious proceedings — a reminder the 2017 ban is enforced even as legalisation is drafted.

Public licensed CASP list

None — and none is possible under current law. No Moroccan authority licenses crypto-asset services, and Draft Bill 42.25's AMMC licensing regime exists only on paper until the bill is enacted. Any platform claiming a Moroccan crypto licence today should be treated as fraudulent. DeFi Intel will mirror the AMMC register if and when the framework takes effect.

Comparison to neighbours

Morocco's trajectory — prohibition now, licensing bill pending — makes it the jurisdiction to watch in the Maghreb, where Algeria maintains its own ban without any comparable draft framework. Compare Morocco crypto regulation with three geographically adjacent jurisdictions:

Doing business in Morocco — practical notes

There is no lawful route to operating a crypto business in or into Morocco today. Exchange-control law is the operative constraint: acquiring crypto is treated as constituting assets abroad without authorisation, and the May 2026 Office des Changes notices show the authority can and does identify individual holders and open proceedings — meaning passive cross-border servicing of Moroccan users creates real legal exposure for local participants. For firms positioning ahead of legalisation, Bill 42.25 defines the future shape of the market clearly enough to plan against: AMMC licensing for issuance, trading, custody and advisory; BAM supervision of stablecoins; white-paper and disclosure duties; 10-year record-keeping; and criminal-tier sanctions for violations. The open questions are timing — no parliamentary schedule for the bill had been published as of this review — plus the tax regime and transitional treatment of the roughly six million Moroccans who already hold crypto acquired under the ban. Until enactment, the only prudent posture is preparation without operation.

Methodology and sources

This profile was researched and updated by DeFi Intel's research desk on 2026-07-14 from the primary and secondary sources listed below. Claims that could not be verified against a source are omitted or marked pending — we do not republish unverified third-party datasets. Submit corrections and primary-source links to research@defi-intel.com.

Sources

• Crypto Council for Innovation — Morocco rolls out crypto legislation following eight-year ban (2017 ban; Bill 42.25 roles; adoption data; CBDC)
• Morocco World News — Morocco moves to regulate digital assets with new draft law (Bill 42.25 contents, November 2025)
• Lara on the Block — BAM: crypto draft law now at Ministry of Economy for adoption process (GITEX Africa 2025)
• The North Africa Post — Office des Changes targets crypto-asset holders in enforcement move (May 2026 notices)
• African Law & Business — Moroccan central bank plans to legalise cryptoassets (Jouahri, November 2024)
• Maroc.ma — FATF decides to remove Morocco from grey list (February 2023)
• Basel Institute on Governance — Briefing: Morocco's delisting from the FATF grey list
• Lightspark — Is crypto legal in Morocco? Regulations & compliance in 2026 (status overview)