Rwanda Central Bank Reaffirms Ban on Crypto Payments, Trading

Rwanda’s central bank has reaffirmed that cryptocurrency payments and trading remain illegal.

Cointelegraph reported on May 6 that the National Bank of Rwanda said through its official channels that, under the current regulatory framework, crypto assets cannot be used for payments, conversion into Rwandan francs, or peer-to-peer trading. The central bank added that virtual assets carry significant financial risks and that investors are not protected against losses.

The warning came after crypto exchange Bybit said on May 4 that it would support virtual-asset trading in Rwandan francs on its P2P platform.

In a separate notice, the central bank said the Rwandan franc is the country’s only legal tender. It said financial institutions licensed by the bank are prohibited from converting fiat currency into crypto assets or exchanging crypto assets back into fiat currency.

Rwanda is also pursuing a central bank digital currency as part of efforts to strengthen monetary sovereignty. Its proposed e-franc is in the technical validation stage and could later be expanded into a pilot program.

Authorities are also preparing a regulatory framework for crypto assets. In March, the Capital Market Authority released a draft framework for virtual asset service providers. The proposal would ban the use of crypto assets as legal tender and restrict mining, mixer services and the issuance of tokens pegged to the Rwandan franc.

The draft also includes a licensing-based supervisory regime that would allow companies meeting certain requirements to operate.

Meanwhile, Chainalysis data showed Rwanda’s crypto adoption remained low in 2024 and 2025 compared with other major African countries.