Zambia

DeFi Intel Research Desk2026-07-14Africa

Is crypto legal in Zambia? (2026)

Partially — crypto is not banned but remains unregulated and is not legal tender in Zambia. Current status: Unregulated · not legal tender. Oversight sits with Bank of Zambia · SEC Zambia (framework in development). Full details — governing law, licensing, tax and dated enforcement history — follow below (last reviewed 2026-07-14).

Framework: Zambia has no comprehensive cryptoasset legislation, and cryptocurrencies are not legal tender. In a widely cited public notice the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) stated it "does not oversee, supervise nor regulate the cryptocurrency landscape" and that all activity involving the buying, trading or use of cryptocurrencies is undertaken at the owner's own risk, warning of money-laundering, terrorism-financing, fraud and consumer-protection exposure. Holding or trading crypto is not itself criminalised for individuals, but no licensing regime exists.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) treats cryptoassets as outside its remit unless a specific product meets the definition of a security under the Securities Act No. 41 of 2016 — a determination made case by case on each asset's characteristics, features and uses. The SEC has repeatedly urged investors to "exercise restraint and caution" because these products are "largely unregulated and not subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission."

A formal framework is in development but not yet law. The BoZ's 2024–2027 Strategic Plan lists developing a crypto and stablecoin regulatory framework as an objective, and since 2023 the BoZ and SEC have jointly tested regulatory technology intended to let authorities supervise and pilot crypto services before they reach the market. Then–Minister of Technology and Science Felix Mutati framed the goal as balancing digital-payments innovation against citizen safety, adding that supporting infrastructure such as a national digital-identity system must be built first. The SEC also runs a capital-market regulatory sandbox (launched March 2021 with the UN Capital Development Fund), though it is not crypto-specific. Separately, the BoZ Currency Directives 2025 (effective 26 December 2025) reaffirm the Kwacha and Ngwee as the sole legal tender for domestic settlement under the Bank of Zambia Act; they target foreign-currency pricing rather than crypto, but reinforce that cryptoassets cannot function as legal tender.

Tax treatment

No cryptoasset-specific tax legislation or Zambia Revenue Authority guidance on crypto was located for this profile. The income, capital-gains and VAT treatment of crypto disposals is therefore pending verification. Secondary trackers report that Zambia levies no dedicated crypto capital-gains tax, but DeFi Intel could not confirm this against a primary Zambia Revenue Authority source and treats it as unverified.

• Capital-gains rate (crypto): Pending verification — no primary ZRA guidance located
• Holding-period rule: Pending verification

Travel rule applicability

Status: no dedicated VASP regime. Because crypto-asset service providers are not licensed or supervised in Zambia, no FATF-style Travel Rule for virtual-asset transfers is in force. General AML/KYC obligations under Zambia's anti-money-laundering framework bind regulated financial institutions, and the BoZ has flagged crypto's money-laundering and terrorism-financing risk, but specific VASP travel-rule transfer-data thresholds are pending verification.

Notable enforcement actions

• 2019. The SEC publicly warned that KWAKOO — promoting an initial coin offering (Onyxcoin) with dubious price predictions — was not registered with the Commission and was acting in violation of the Securities Act No. 41 of 2016.
• Aug 2025. As part of Interpol's Operation Serengeti 2.0 (June–August 2025), Zambian authorities dismantled a large-scale online investment fraud that lured victims into cryptocurrency "apps" with promises of high returns; Interpol reported 65,000 victims, an estimated USD 300 million lost, 15 arrests, and the seizure of domains, mobile numbers and bank accounts, with links to suspected human trafficking.
• Ongoing. The SEC continues to publish public alerts and warnings on unlicensed and fraudulent investment schemes.

Public licensed CASP list

None. Zambia operates no cryptoasset-service-provider licensing regime, and neither the BoZ nor the SEC publishes a register of licensed crypto exchanges or custodians — because such activity is not yet regulated. The SEC's public "Find a Licensee" list covers conventional capital-market operators, not crypto firms. A CASP register would only follow adoption of the framework the BoZ and SEC are currently testing. Submit corrections and primary-source links to research@defi-intel.com.

Comparison to neighbours

Compare Zambia crypto regulation with three geographically adjacent jurisdictions:

Doing business in Zambia — practical notes

Operating a cryptoasset business serving Zambian residents in 2026 means operating outside a dedicated regime: there is no CASP licence to obtain, but equally no regulatory safe harbour, and the BoZ has expressly disclaimed supervision of the sector. Banking access for crypto-native firms is generally constrained relative to traditional finance, and the Currency Directives 2025 push domestic settlement into Kwacha. Products that resemble securities can be pulled into the SEC's jurisdiction under the Securities Act No. 41 of 2016 on a case-by-case basis. Firms should track the BoZ/SEC framework now being piloted, since a formal licensing regime could follow. Submit corrections to research@defi-intel.com.

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

• SEC Zambia — Notice on Cryptocurrencies and Related Digital Products/Assets
• SEC Zambia — Warnings and Alerts (public investor alerts)
• Bank of Zambia — Currency Directives 2025 (Kwacha as sole legal tender)
• Interpol — Operation Serengeti 2.0: Zambia dismantles USD 300m crypto investment fraud (2025)
• Reuters via MariBlock — Zambia testing cryptocurrency regulatory technology (BoZ/SEC; Minister Mutati)
• UNCDF — Zambia's SEC launches a regulatory sandbox (2021)
• Lusaka Times — Cryptocurrencies are not legal tender in Zambia (Bank of Zambia, 2018)