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Illegal

Crypto in Algeria: what the law says and how to protect yourself

Valid as of 18 October 20265 min read

Buying, selling, holding or using crypto assets is illegal in Algeria. The penalty is two months to a year in prison and a fine of 200,000 to 1,000,000 DA, or one of the two (Law 25-10 of 24 July 2025).

Illegal in Algeria
  • Two months to a year in prison
  • A fine of 200,000 to 1,000,000 DA
  • or one of the two
Law 25-10 of 24 July 2025: arts. 6 bis and 31 bis of Law 05-01

If you already hold some, here’s what you risk and how to limit the damage. We don’t name any platform, and we don’t explain how to buy, sell or get paid in crypto.

What the law says

Law 25-10 added an article 6 bis to Law 05-01 on money laundering: “It is forbidden to issue, buy, sell, use or hold virtual assets, to trade them, to promote them, or to set up or run exchange platforms.” Mining is covered too. Article 31 bis sets the penalty above.

So crypto isn’t a grey area. Plenty of freelancers use it, often on the advice of Facebook or Telegram groups, but no use of it is allowed.

Banks are watching

Since Banking Commission guidelines 06/2025 of 12 November 2025, banks and Algérie Poste must:

  • block transfers to platforms they’ve identified as linked to crypto;
  • flag transactions that contain keywords such as “bitcoin”, “crypto”, “USDT”, “ETH” or “Litecoin”;
  • watch social networks for sites and platforms that accept cryptocurrencies;
  • report any crypto-related transaction to the CTRF, Algeria’s financial intelligence unit, without telling the customer;
  • remind customers that their accounts must not be used for any crypto transaction.

In practice, one transfer, one payment reference or a run of small deposits can be enough to trigger a check, and your bank isn’t allowed to tell you it reported you.

What you see online

Illegal

Getting paid in crypto (USDT or anything else)

Article 6 bis of Law 05-01 (Law 25-10) forbids it. The money also never comes home to an Algerian bank, as article 57 of Regulation 07-01 requires, so it’s a foreign exchange offence too (Ordinance 96-22).

Illegal

Selling your crypto for dinars peer to peer

Law 25-10 forbids it. Buying or selling means of payment outside the official system is also a foreign exchange offence (Ord. 96-22, art. 2): two to seven years in prison, a fine of at least twice the amount involved, and confiscation.

Illegal

Paying with a prepaid card topped up with crypto

Law 25-10 forbids it. Paying with crypto still counts as using it, even if the card shows euros or dollars.

The safe option: get paid through a legal route declared to your bank (guides 4 and 7).

If you already hold crypto: protect yourself

These tips limit losses and scams. They don’t make using crypto legal.

Your accounts

  1. Turn on two-factor authentication with an app, not by text message. A SIM card is easier to hijack than an app.
  2. Use a different password for every account, and an email address you don’t use anywhere else.
  3. Never buy, rent or lend a “verified” account. The real owner can take it back at any time, along with everything in it.

Your wallet and your recovery phrase

  1. Use a hardware wallet or a well-known self-custody wallet.
  2. Write your recovery phrase on paper and keep it offline. No photos, no screenshots, no notes in the cloud.
  3. Never type this phrase into a website or give it to anyone, “support” included. No genuine service will ever ask for it.
  4. Check the destination address, character by character, before every transfer. Some malware swaps the address you copied.

The most common scams

  • The fake P2P receipt: the buyer sends a screenshot of a BaridiMob or CCP transfer that never happened. The payment has to show on your own statement, not in a picture.
  • Payment from someone else: the money comes from another person’s account, sometimes a stolen one. Your account can get blocked in their place.
  • Fake customer support: a Telegram or WhatsApp account poses as support and asks for your recovery phrase or a “verification transfer”.
  • Guaranteed returns: “10% a month”, “investment” groups, referral chains. That’s how a pyramid scheme works.
  • The fund “recovery” service: after a scam, someone offers to get your money back for a fee. That’s a second scam.

If your bank account or CCP is blocked

Your bank can refuse a transaction, freeze the account and report you to the CTRF without telling you why. Don’t pay a middleman who promises to unblock it “through a contact”. Gather proof of your legal income (invoices, declarations to your bank, statements) and see a lawyer before you do anything else.

Key points

  • Any use of crypto is illegal in Algeria, holding included, and banks must look out for it.
  • The only way to remove the risk is not to use it. Security tips only limit your losses.
  • No genuine service will ever ask for your recovery phrase.

Sources