Senegal

## Report on Retail Trading Status of Cryptocurrencies in Senegal

**Date:** 2025-06-26
**Topic:** Retail_Trading_Status
**Description:** Assess whether individual citizens and residents in the country are legally permitted to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies. Detail the regulatory environment surrounding this activity.
---
### Retail_Trading_Status: Allowed-UnRegulated
---
**1. Identified Current Status:** Allowed-UnRegulated

**2. Detailed Narrative Explanation:**
Retail cryptocurrency trading in Senegal is **Allowed-UnRegulated**. Individuals are legally permitted to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies, as there is no explicit prohibition. This permissibility is substantiated by governmental actions that regulate and tax the activity, rather than ban it. In 2022, the Senegalese tax authority issued a circular classifying cryptocurrencies as 'movable property' and imposing a 15% capital gains tax on sales and a 30% income tax on mining. This tax framework legally recognizes cryptocurrency transactions and creates an obligation for participants, implying the underlying activity is lawful.

Further evidence of tolerated activity is the 2024 Anti-Money Laundering law (Law No. 02/2024), which designates Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) as reporting entities to the national financial intelligence unit (CENTIF). This law brings crypto service providers under AML/CFT supervision, acknowledging their operation within the country's legal framework, even in the absence of a specific licensing regime for exchanges.

The primary monetary authority, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), influences the environment through a cautious stance. The BCEAO has consistently warned that cryptocurrencies are not legal tender within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and has advised financial institutions under its supervision to refrain from facilitating crypto transactions. This creates a 'banking blockade,' limiting fiat on-ramps and off-ramps, but does not constitute a ban on individual possession or peer-to-peer trading.

International and regional crypto exchanges offer services to Senegalese users, often implementing their own KYC and AML procedures. The activity occurs without a dedicated regulatory framework for consumer protection or exchange licensing, which defines the 'UnRegulated' aspect of the status. The regional financial market regulator, CREPMF, requires authorization for crypto-asset activities linked to public offerings, but this is targeted at businesses issuing tokens, not individual retail trading.

In summary, the combination of tax recognition, AML inclusion for VASPs, and the absence of any law criminalizing individual participation confirms that retail trading is allowed. The lack of a comprehensive regulatory and licensing system for service providers means it is unregulated, placing Senegal in the **Allowed-UnRegulated** category.

**3. Specific, Relevant Text Excerpts:**
*   **UPay Blog (2024-12-07):** "In 2022, the Senegalese tax authority issued a circular providing guidance on the taxation of cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies are classified as movable property... Sale of Cryptocurrencies: Subject to a 15% capital gains tax. Mining of Cryptocurrencies: Considered a business activity and subject to a 30% income tax."
*   **Avocats Houda (2024-02-02) re: Law No. 02/2024:** "Extending the scope of the law to virtual asset service providers (Psav)... On 2 February 2024, the Senegalese National Assembly adopted Bill 02/2024."
*   **Legal 500 (referring to Houda Law Firm insights):** "Cryptocurrency activities are not explicitly authorised in Senegal, and banks are not permitted to engage in cryptocurrency issuance or custody. There is currently no specific legal framework regulating cryptocurrency operations."
*   **Quartz (July 20, 2022, quoting BCEAO's stance):** "The currency is issued and regulated by a Dakar-based central bank known as BCEAO, which has warned that the adoption and usage of crypto is illegal with commercial banks operating in the union are forbidden to process crypto transactions."
*   **UEEx Technology (2025-04-29):** "Are crypto exchanges legal in Senegal? Cryptocurrency is not officially recognized as legal money in Senegal. However, there are no strict laws banning crypto trading, so many people still use crypto exchanges to buy and sell digital assets."

**4. Direct, Accessible URL Links to Specific Sources:**
*   UPay Blog (2024-12-07): https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQHySM37kgmzwWa6AKYU6FWOSfxMVJ_umhCARKVP0nKF9M3hHwwH2_osGQ0wqrjvYJsN9KMu4F9u3NJuY0UWQTMcfUeO566SuqDSB2bci3Bn8QyQ4VNajKtVe_Bl1Ezlq0w7nr1cJW99A3dy
*   Avocats Houda on Law No. 02/2024 (2024-02-02): https://www.avocatshouda.com/en/news/senegal-adoption-of-the-new-uniform-law-on-the-fight-against-money-laundering-terrorist-financing-and-the-proliferation-of-weapons-of-mass-destruction-aml-cft-fp
*   Legal 500 - Senegal: Banking & Finance: https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQGxuWlibXMk7pv9DBTxktdzpW0zW69Asv95L4FOmTgGVbfwAGOljhFarYTiIsnpkNRcH4N3H_2D0jwrR3pvo6kOU3BqPU_WtA-HAiaiDMvY1hG7DTdv-4IomRkjhfC9otzeRGfdWTi-leFZ_77-_AIG9ZWv0CY3WgScjfc=
*   Quartz (2022-07-20): https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQFH3B_h3dl08WRTu2YuLonl9SKh0ZT1VyFcZMg4FoFHLxEmBfcGW_KwG0DLLc0MbZ1GM9xj27qYFKrdam18oYi3HmeC6dpVY25Ui2PItc-bx3IqnhPCnW3o1qPQkt_J6T4MxvSVcKVicHjo2kC_qL81QddtJXvHfuchg5_OoV0Xw1DuJr5AoxWK_6BnJnwcEWzb
*   UEEx Technology (2025-04-29): https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQF9SBRCNWI1EiR55JgxC0Rplaz1_mpPdmc3ZI-MnTaccCpiij2tf7-fiO6Dv0jxSX391UbdDMAbAq0_TOxaETDjB159HJH_c_56HbYprYDHl86MqzVE6qY73SkZhQssjjvibly6BBiRcIycGh20XwborZVyeuO56vA=