Virtual Assets in Algeria: Central Bank Establishes Strict Guidelines for Identification and Prohibition
✍️ BY: Dr. Hana Saada
Algiers – November 2025 – The Bank of Algeria (BA) has officially released comprehensive guidelines on its website, formulated by its Banking Commission, concerning the identification, blocking, and prohibition of operations linked to virtual assets. The move aims to enforce strict adherence to the ban, in response to the rising risks of money laundering, terrorist financing, and other illicit activities associated with digital assets.
Issued under directive No. 06/2025, the guidelines address the challenges posed by the growing use of virtual assets, which can be exchanged or transferred digitally, often via foreign platforms, despite their prohibition in Algeria. Virtual assets, distinct from traditional currencies due to the absence of state backing and lack of linkage to gold or sovereign currencies—and also separate from digital representations of fiat money, financial securities, or other financial instruments—enable rapid, intermediary-free transactions. While this feature appeals to certain users, it also exposes the system to misuse by malicious actors.
The Banking Commission emphasizes that these guidelines provide financial institutions with a framework to implement procedures and systems ensuring effective compliance with the prohibition of virtual assets within their operations. Banks and Algérie Poste are instructed to strengthen anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing mechanisms, adopt a risk-based approach, implement enhanced due diligence measures, continuously monitor transactions, conduct targeted training, and improve internal reporting systems for suspicious activities.
Preventive measures against fraud attempts include heightened scrutiny of clients and transactions, active monitoring of digital platforms, social media, and open sources, and the establishment of robust internal control systems to detect and prevent suspicious activities related to virtual assets. In cases of suspicion, banks and Algérie Poste must immediately report to the Financial Intelligence Processing Unit (CTRF).
The directive clearly states: “Any suspicious operation involving virtual assets, or any transaction linked to these assets, must be reported immediately to the CTRF.” The report underscores that such reporting is confidential and must include all relevant information to assess the level of risk, without delay upon detecting unusual or suspicious behaviors or transactions.
The latest risk assessment report, prepared by the Cell for Identification of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risks in the context of electronic transactions and emerging technologies, highlights a significant increase in virtual asset adoption in Algeria. The report estimates over 1.74 million national users, with assets valued at $9.7 billion—representing more than 16% of the informal sector and over 4% of GDP.
Among the most widely used crypto-assets, Tether (USDT) leads in user numbers due to its stability, followed by Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC). However, in terms of financial volume, Bitcoin remains dominant, followed by Tether and Ethereum, owing to its high unit value generating significant transactional amounts despite a relatively smaller number of transfers.
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