Is Crypto Legal in Namibia?
Regulatory Bodies
[Search for "Bank of Namibia Position Paper Virtual Assets" on the BoN official website: www.bon.com.na]
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) within the Ministry of Finance oversees AML/CFT (Anti-Money Laundering/Combating Financing of Terrorism) regulations, but these are broadly applicable and may not suffice for emerging digital asset…
The Namibia - Licensing Requirements for Professional Services guide suggests that digital asset service providers might need to obtain licenses from relevant professional bodies, such as the Investment and Securities Authority of Namibia…
The tax treatment of cryptocurrencies in Namibia remains ambiguous, with no explicit guidelines provided by the Namibia Revenue Authority.
Operating Models
9/9 verdictsCan specific business models operate in Namibia? Each card answers the operational question for one kind of operator. Curated cells reflect counsel-grade review; AI-generated cells should be confirmed before relying on them.
Conditional · high burden.
AI · UnreviewedConditional · high burden.
AI · UnreviewedConditional · no licensing.
AI · UnreviewedConditional · high burden.
AI · UnreviewedConditional · high burden.
AI · UnreviewedNot permitted.
AI · UnreviewedConditional · no licensing.
AI · UnreviewedConditional · high burden.
AI · UnreviewedConditional · high burden.
AI · UnreviewedPrimary Legislation
| Law / Regulation | Year | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Act No. 20 of 1998 | 1998 | Customs regulations under the Customs and Excise Act (Act No. 20 of 1998) do not address digital assets, confirming that cross-border crypto transactions remain unregulated from a customs perspective Namibia - Customs Regulations |
Licensing Requirements
Namibia's regulatory framework for digital assets is currently underdeveloped, with no dedicated legislation explicitly covering cryptocurrencies or blockchain technologies.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) within the Ministry of Finance oversees AML/CFT (Anti-Money Laundering/Combating Financing of Terrorism) regulations, but these are broadly applicable and may not suffice for emerging digital asset markets.
Existing statutes such as the Namibia Anti-money Laundering Act provide a foundation for monitoring financial transactions, yet they do not specifically address the unique characteristics of cryptocurrencies.
Entities seeking to engage in cryptocurrency-related activities may fall under general licensing requirements for professional services as outlined in the LICENCES, RIGHTS AND PERMITS document.
The guide suggests that digital asset service providers might need to obtain licenses from relevant professional bodies, such as the Investment and Securities Authority of Namibia (ISAN).
The Namibia Establishes New Oil and Mining Licensing System indicates a trend toward more streamlined licensing processes, which could be extended to digital asset sectors in future regulatory updates.
The Namibia Anti-money Laundering - Namibia Financial Institutions outlines mandatory reporting and customer due diligence requirements that apply to financial institutions, potentially extending to crypto service providers.
Compliance with international standards such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations is expected, emphasizing robust AML/KYC procedures for digital asset exchanges and wallets.
The absence of specific cryptocurrency regulations poses risks such as regulatory arbitrage, financial instability, and potential exposure to illicit activities.
Market participants face uncertainty regarding licensing pathways, AML/KYC compliance, and tax liabilities, necessitating proactive engagement with regulators for guidance.
Future legislative developments are anticipated to address these gaps, aiming to foster a conducive environment for digital asset innovation while ensuring robust regulatory oversight.
Namibia Establishes New Oil and Mining Licensing System
Namibia Anti-money Laundering - Namibia Financial Institutions
Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
Inspection & Licensing - NMRC - Portal Ariel
Namibia Vessel Registration & License Management
AML/KYC Requirements
Namibia's AML/CFT framework rests on the Financial Intelligence Act 13 of 2012, which establishes the Financial Intelligence Centre and imposes registration, customer due diligence, record-keeping and reporting duties on accountable and reporting institutions; its amending instruments are the Prevention and Combating of Terrorist and Proliferation Activities Act 4 of 2014, Government Notice 339 of 2019 amending Schedule 1, the Abolition of Payment by Cheque Act 16 of 2022 and the Financial Intelligence Amendment Act 6 of 2023, effective 21 July 2023. No Financial Intelligence Amendment Act of 2017 exists, Act 2 of 2017 being the Access to Biological and Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge Act.
Namibia's Financial Intelligence Regulations were made under section 73(2) of the Financial Intelligence Act 13 of 2012 and published as Government Notice 3 of 2015 in Government Gazette 5658, in operation from 28 January 2015, and were amended by Government Notice 48 of 2021 and Government Notice 271 of 2023; no Financial Intelligence Regulations of 2017 were made. The Regulations prescribe the identification particulars for natural persons in regulation 6 and for companies and trusts in regulations 7 and 10, enhanced due diligence in regulation 15(3), a five-year record retention period in regulation 18(5), cash-reporting thresholds of N$99 999.99 and N$24 999.99 in regulation 23 and the originator and beneficiary particulars for reportable transfers in regulation 32.
Namibia's Prevention of Organised Crime Act 29 of 2004 creates the money-laundering, racketeering and criminal-gang offences and the confiscation, forfeiture and asset-recovery regime for proceeds of unlawful activities, and it has been amended by the Prevention of Organised Crime Amendment Act 10 of 2008, the Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act 1 of 2018 and the Prevention of Organised Crime Amendment Act 9 of 2023, which took effect on 28 July 2023.
Natural Persons: Obtain full name, date of birth, residential address, nationality, identification number (e.g., national ID, passport). Verify identity using reliable, independent source documents, data, or information (e.g., government-issued ID, utility bills).
Legal Persons/Arrangements (Companies, Trusts): Obtain name, legal form, proof of existence, powers that regulate and bind the legal person/arrangement, and the names of relevant persons holding senior management positions.
Beneficial Ownership: Identify and verify the identity of the beneficial owner(s) of the customer, ensuring that VASPs understand the ownership and control structure of the customer. This involves identifying the natural person(s) who ultimately own or control the customer, and/or on whose behalf a transaction is being conducted.
Purpose and Nature of Business Relationship: Understand the purpose and intended nature of the business relationship or occasional transaction.
Ongoing Monitoring: Conduct ongoing due diligence on the business relationship and scrutiny of transactions undertaken throughout the course of that relationship to ensure that the transactions are consistent with the VASP's knowledge of the customer, their business, and risk profile, including, where necessary, the source of funds.
Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD): Apply EDD in higher-risk situations, which typically include
Customers from high-risk geographic areas (as identified by FATF or FIC).
Complex, unusually large transactions, or unusual patterns of transactions that have no apparent economic or lawful purpose.
Transactions involving new technologies or products that favor anonymity.
Namibia already applies a virtual-asset travel rule: section 8.4 of Financial Intelligence Centre Guidance Note 11 of 2023, issued 30 June 2023 and effective 3 July 2023, requires a virtual asset service provider to obtain and transmit the originator's name, account number or unique transaction reference and address, identity number, customer identification number or date and place of birth, together with the beneficiary's name and account number or unique transaction reference, immediately and simultaneously with the transfer, for all virtual asset transfers regardless of amount, the EUR 1 000 de minimis having been dropped. A VASP transferring to an unhosted wallet must obtain the equivalent information from its own customer.
Namibia sets no monetary threshold for suspicious transaction reporting: section 33 of the Financial Intelligence Act 13 of 2012 requires an accountable or reporting institution that knows, ought reasonably to have known or suspects that it has received or is about to receive the proceeds of unlawful activities, or has been or is about to be used for money laundering, to report to the Financial Intelligence Centre irrespective of the size of the transaction, and the duty bites on transactions that are about to be concluded as well as completed ones. The threshold-based duties are the separate cash transaction reports under section 32, prescribed at N$99 999.99 by regulation 23(1) with a lower N$24 999.99 figure for banking institutions in regulation 23(2), and the electronic transfer reports under section 34.
Content of Report: The report must include all relevant information known to the VASP regarding the customer, the transaction, and the reasons for suspicion.
Namibia prohibits tipping-off: under section 33(3) of the Financial Intelligence Act 13 of 2012 an accountable or reporting institution or business that has made or is to make a suspicious transaction report may not disclose that fact, or any information about the contents of the report, to any other person save in the exercise of powers under the Act, for the administration of the Act or under an order of court, and section 46 of the Act creates the tipping-off offence.
Customer Identification Records: Copies of all documents used for customer identification and verification (e.g., ID cards, passports, utility bills, company registration documents).
Transaction Records: Details of all transactions conducted by the VASP, including amounts, types of virtual assets, dates, sender and recipient information, and any associated messages. This includes both successful and attempted transactions.
Business Relationship Records: Records pertaining to the establishment and duration of business relationships.
Analysis and Decision Records: Records of any internal analysis undertaken regarding suspicious activity, and decisions made regarding whether or not to file an STR.
STRs Submitted: Copies of all suspicious transaction reports filed with the FIC.
Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) Namibia
The Financial Intelligence Centre is Namibia's financial intelligence unit, established under the Financial Intelligence Act 13 of 2012, and it receives, analyses and disseminates financial intelligence and supervises accountable and reporting institutions, a population that since 21 July 2023 includes virtual asset service providers at Schedule 1 item 18.
The Bank of Namibia is the Regulatory Authority designated under section 5(1) of the Virtual Assets Act 10 of 2023 and licenses and prudentially supervises virtual asset service providers, while AML/CFT supervision of those providers rests with the Financial Intelligence Centre under the Financial Intelligence Act 13 of 2012.
Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC): Responsible for combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The FIC oversees AML/CFT compliance for "accountable institutions," which now include VASPs.
NAMFISA supervises non-banking financial institutions and runs a regulatory sandbox confined to crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending, and it holds no licensing or supervisory function over virtual assets, which the Virtual Assets Act 10 of 2023 assigns to the Bank of Namibia.
Namibia licenses digital asset custodians: Virtual Asset Custodian is one of six licence classes in Annexure 1 to the Capital and Other Financial Requirements rules, Government Notice 513 of 1 September 2023, with a minimum capital of N$2 000 000, and custodians are governed by the Custody of Client Assets Rules in Government Notice 515 of the same date.
Section 7 of the Virtual Assets Act 10 of 2023 requires a virtual asset service provider, including a virtual asset custodian, to hold a licence, and the licensing authority is the Bank of Namibia as the Regulatory Authority designated under section 5(1).
The Bank of Namibia's August 2022 revised position states that virtual assets cannot be authorised as payment instruments under the Payment System Management Act and hold neither legal tender nor electronic money status in Namibia, and it admitted virtual asset service providers to the Bank's FinTech Innovation Regulatory Framework rather than to the national payment system.
Virtual asset service providers are accountable institutions under Schedule 1 item 18 of the Financial Intelligence Act 13 of 2012, as substituted by the Financial Intelligence Amendment Act 6 of 2023 published on 21 July 2023, and must register with the Financial Intelligence Centre in addition to holding a Bank of Namibia licence under the Virtual Assets Act 10 of 2023.
Rule 12(1) of the Custody of Client Assets Rules, Government Notice 515 of 1 September 2023, requires a virtual asset custodian to distinguish virtual assets held for one client from those held for any other client and from the custodian's own assets, so segregation of client digital assets is enacted Namibian law.
No Namibian instrument requires a virtual asset custodian to carry insurance or a bond; the Risk Management Rules in Government Notice 514 of 1 September 2023 make cover permissive, providing that a licence holder may make use of an insurance policy covering the relevant activities and services to mitigate its risks.
Cold storage is not mandated by Namibian law, although rule 5 of the Custody of Client Assets Rules, Government Notice 515 of 1 September 2023, requires a virtual asset custodian's hardware and software arrangements to address cryptographic keys, hard and cold wallet storage, password protection and encryption.
Namibian law uses no 'qualified custodian' concept, but it does separate custody from other virtual asset services: Virtual Asset Custodian is a distinct licence class in Annexure 1 to Government Notice 513 of 1 September 2023 with a N$2 000 000 minimum capital floor, governed by its own Custody of Client Assets Rules in Government Notice 515.
An entity providing safekeeping or administration of virtual assets in Namibia requires a Virtual Asset Custodian licence from the Bank of Namibia and is bound by the Custody of Client Assets Rules, Government Notice 515 of 1 September 2023, which are in force rather than pending.
The Bank of Namibia introduced its virtual asset framework through seven sets of rules gazetted on 1 September 2023 as Government Notices 512 to 518, covering advertising, capital and other financial requirements, risk management, custody of client assets, cyber security, statutory returns and client disclosure.
Namibia enacted a dedicated digital asset statute, the Virtual Assets Act 10 of 2023, rather than amending its payments legislation, and the Bank of Namibia now exercises its payments mandate under the Payment System Management Act 14 of 2023.
NAMFISA's regulatory sandbox is confined to crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending and admits no virtual asset custody solutions; virtual asset services in Namibia are licensed by the Bank of Namibia under the Virtual Assets Act 10 of 2023.
Namibia's amending AML statute is the Financial Intelligence Amendment Act, 2023 (Act No. 6 of 2023), assented 19 July 2023 and published in Government Gazette 8139 under Government Notice 211 on 21 July 2023; its section 42(d) inserts virtual asset service providers as item 18 of Schedule 1 to the Financial Intelligence Act 13 of 2012, while the virtual-asset travel rule sits in section 18 of the Virtual Assets Act 10 of 2023.
The Financial Intelligence Amendment Act, 2023 (Act No. 6 of 2023) was assented on 19 July 2023, published in Government Gazette No. 8139 under Government Notice No. 211 on 21 July 2023, and came into force on 21 July 2023; it amends the Financial Intelligence Act 13 of 2012 to cover virtual assets and virtual asset service providers.
Section 42(d) of the Financial Intelligence Amendment Act 6 of 2023 inserts item 18 of Schedule 1 to the Financial Intelligence Act 13 of 2012, so that a person carrying on the business of a virtual asset service provider is an accountable institution subject to customer due diligence, record-keeping and reporting duties.
Section 18(2) and 18(3) of the Virtual Assets Act 10 of 2023 bar an originating virtual asset service provider from executing a transfer unless it is accompanied by the required information, and require the provider to obtain and hold accurate originator information and required beneficiary information and to keep it immediately available to the Bank of Namibia; section 18(5) leaves the content of that required information to rules the Bank of Namibia has not gazetted.
Namibia prescribes no statutory list of originator data for virtual asset transfers, because section 18(5) of the Virtual Assets Act 10 of 2023 delegates that content to Bank of Namibia rules; for electronic transfers of money, regulation 32(1) of the Financial Intelligence Regulations requires the originator's name, the originator account number or a unique transaction reference number, and the originator's address or national identity number, with no date of birth and no place of birth.
Regulation 32(1) of the Financial Intelligence Regulations requires the beneficiary's name and the beneficiary account number where an account is used for electronic transfers of money; Namibian law prescribes no wallet-address field, and section 18(5) of the Virtual Assets Act 10 of 2023 leaves beneficiary data for virtual asset transfers to Bank of Namibia rules.
Section 18(3)(a) of the Virtual Assets Act 10 of 2023 requires the originating virtual asset service provider to obtain and hold accurate originator information and required beneficiary information and to submit that information immediately and securely to the beneficiary virtual asset service provider, which must in turn obtain and hold it.
Section 27 of the Financial Intelligence Act 13 of 2012 and regulation 18(5)(a) of the Financial Intelligence Regulations require accountable institutions, which since Act 6 of 2023 include virtual asset service providers, to keep records for five years from the date the record was made, or longer where a competent authority so requests.
Section 56 of the Financial Intelligence Act 13 of 2012, as substituted by the Financial Intelligence Amendment Act 6 of 2023, empowers the Financial Intelligence Centre to impose a caution, a reprimand, a directive to take remedial action, a restriction on business activities, suspension of a licence, or a financial penalty of up to N$10 million.
The Financial Intelligence Act 13 of 2012, as amended by Act 6 of 2023, carries a maximum criminal penalty of a fine not exceeding N$100 million or imprisonment not exceeding 30 years or both, and the Financial Intelligence Centre's administrative financial penalty under section 56 is capped at N$10 million; the Namibian maximum term is 30 years, not 25.
Sections 49, 50 and 51 of the Financial Intelligence Act 13 of 2012 are headed protection of confidential information, protection of providers of information, and exhausting of other measures before penalties, and none of them imposes a penalty; the suspicious-transaction reporting duty and its penalty sit in section 33 and the administrative sanctions power sits in section 56.
The amending statute is the Financial Intelligence Amendment Act, 2023 (Act No. 6 of 2023), published in Government Gazette 8139 under Government Notice 211 on 21 July 2023, and no Act No. 5 of 2023 appears in the amendment history of the Financial Intelligence Act 13 of 2012.
The Financial Intelligence Amendment Act 6 of 2023 appears in Government Gazette No. 8139 of 21 July 2023 under Government Notice No. 211, and not in Government Gazette No. 8171 of 24 August 2023.
The Bank of Namibia's operative virtual-asset paper is the Revised Position on Virtual Assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers dated August 2022, which followed the Bank's 2017 and 2018 papers on distributed ledger technology and virtual currencies and was itself overtaken by the Virtual Assets Act 10 of 2023.
Namibia's second-round mutual evaluation report was adopted by ESAAMLG in September 2022 and published on 27 January 2023, and the third enhanced follow-up report of April 2025 re-rated Recommendation 15 on new technologies from Non-Compliant to Largely Compliant.
Travel Rule
Central Bank of Namibia (CBN) – Oversees monetary policy and financial institution oversight; currently lacks a dedicated virtual asset licensing division.
Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) – Monitors suspicious financial activities, including those involving virtual assets; responsible for any future travel‑rule directives.
Namibia Virtual Assets Act 2022 – Official government gazette (primary source).
Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) Guidelines on Travel Rules – Draft document circulated internally as of October 2025, confirming no published guidelines yet.
Central Bank of Namibia Regulatory Notices – No specific travel‑rule notices issued as of Q2 2026.
Sumsub – What is the FATF Travel Rule? – Provides comprehensive overview of FATF expectations for VASPs worldwide.
StarCompliance – Crypto in Africa: Monitoring‑Ready Compliance Is Now a Must – Emphasizes the need for proactive compliance frameworks across African jurisdictions, including Namibia.
Tax Reporting
Businesses and Professional Traders: Companies or individuals whose primary business involves trading cryptocurrencies, providing crypto-related services, or mining.
Namibia levies no general capital gains tax, so the taxability of a crypto disposal turns on the section 1 gross-income definition in the Income Tax Act 24 of 1981, which brings in the total amount, in cash or otherwise, received by or accrued to a person from a source within or deemed to be within Namibia but excludes receipts and accruals of a capital nature; the Namibia Revenue Agency has published no crypto-asset guidance and no badges-of-trade test of its own.
Crypto received from mining is taxed in Namibia, if at all, through the section 1 gross-income definition in the Income Tax Act 24 of 1981, which counts the total amount, in cash or otherwise, received by or accrued to a person from a Namibian source and excludes receipts of a capital nature; the Act prescribes no valuation rule for virtual assets and the Namibia Revenue Agency has issued no mining guidance.
Namibian tax law uses gross income and taxable income rather than ordinary income, and staking, lending or decentralised finance rewards are taxable only where they fall inside the section 1 gross-income definition of the Income Tax Act 24 of 1981; the Namibia Revenue Agency has published no guidance on staking, lending or decentralised finance.
Remuneration paid in crypto is taxable in Namibia because section 1 of the Income Tax Act 24 of 1981 defines gross income as the total amount, in cash or otherwise, received by or accrued to or in favour of a person from a source within or deemed to be within Namibia; the Act prescribes no conversion rule for virtual assets and the Namibia Revenue Agency has published no crypto guidance on employment income.
Namibia has cut the non-mining corporate income tax rate below 32%: the rate came down to 31% and then to 30% for companies whose financial years commence on or after 1 January 2025, so 32% now describes a superseded rate.
Namibia levies no general capital gains tax at all: section 1 of the Income Tax Act 24 of 1981 defines gross income as amounts received from a source within or deemed to be within Namibia and expressly excludes receipts or accruals of a capital nature, so an individual's genuine capital disposal of virtual assets falls outside income tax entirely, while proceeds of trading or speculation are taxed as ordinary income on the normal individual scale.
A Namibian company's disposal of virtual assets attracts no capital gains tax, because Namibia has no CGT and section 1 of the Income Tax Act 24 of 1981 keeps receipts of a capital nature out of gross income; a company gain becomes taxable only where the asset was held on revenue account or as trading stock, and the only targeted charges on capital-type disposals are paragraphs (o) and (q) of the gross-income definition, which cover mineral and petroleum licences.
Namibia's only targeted charges on capital-type gains sit in paragraphs (o) and (q) of the gross-income definition in section 1 of the Income Tax Act 24 of 1981, which bring into gross income the consideration for alienating a mineral licence or right to mine minerals, or a petroleum licence or right, including the transfer of any share or member's interest in a company that holds such a licence directly or indirectly; disposals of immovable property carry no equivalent income tax charge, and neither paragraph reaches virtual assets.
Supply of Cryptocurrencies: Given the lack of specific guidance, it is likely that the supply of cryptocurrencies themselves (e.g., buying or selling crypto for fiat, or exchanging one crypto for another) would generally be exempt from VAT, similar to other financial services. This aligns with common international interpretations (e.g., EU VAT rules, which many African countries often look to).
Namibia levies VAT at a standard rate of 15% under the Value-Added Tax Act 10 of 2000, so a taxable supply of goods or services settled in cryptocurrency stays subject to 15% VAT on the Namibia Dollar value of the consideration; NamRA has issued no crypto-specific VAT ruling, practice note or guidance.
Declaration of Income: Any income or profits derived from cryptocurrency activities that are deemed taxable (as per the income tax section above) must be declared in the annual tax returns.
ITR12 is a South African Revenue Service eFiling return code and has no Namibian counterpart; individuals in Namibia file annual income tax returns with the Namibia Revenue Agency through the Integrated Tax Administration System under the Income Tax Act 24 of 1981.
ITR14 is the South African Revenue Service company income tax return on eFiling and has no Namibian counterpart; companies and close corporations in Namibia file annual income tax returns and provisional returns with the Namibia Revenue Agency through the Integrated Tax Administration System under the Income Tax Act 24 of 1981.
Record Keeping: It is crucial for individuals and businesses involved in cryptocurrency to maintain meticulous records of all transactions, including
The fair market value in Namibian Dollars (NAD) at the time of each transaction (acquisition, disposal, receipt of income).
The Bank of Namibia states that virtual currencies do not enjoy legal tender status on par with the Namibia Dollar, a position it has held since its 2017 position paper and maintained after the Virtual Assets Act 10 of 2023 became operational on 25 July 2023.
They have often issued warnings to the public about the risks associated with investing in and using cryptocurrencies.
Namibia moved past exploration in 2023: the Virtual Assets Act 10 of 2023 was assented on 14 July 2023, published under Government Notice 215 in Government Gazette 8143 of 21 July 2023 and became operational on 25 July 2023, and the Bank of Namibia prudentially licenses, regulates and supervises virtual asset service providers as the Regulatory Authority designated under section 5(1), with the Financial Intelligence Centre keeping the AML/CFT/CPF supervision role.
The Namibia Revenue Agency, established as a juristic person by section 2(1) of the Namibia Revenue Agency Act 12 of 2017, assesses and collects taxes and duties on behalf of the State and enforces the revenue, customs and excise laws under section 3, and it has published no crypto-specific tax guidance, ruling or practice note under the Income Tax Act 24 of 1981 or the Value-Added Tax Act 10 of 2000.
While not a tax authority, the BoN's statements on virtual assets provide crucial regulatory context. Search their "Press Releases" or "Publications" sections for their stance on cryptocurrencies.
Custody Requirements
Custody regulation data collection in progress.
Stablecoin Regulation
Stablecoins have no legal tender status in Namibia: the Bank of Namibia's Revised Position on Virtual Assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers of August 2022 states that virtual assets remain without legal tender status and that the Bank does not recognise their use and acceptance as legal tender or as electronic money, and the Bank's Virtual Assets Act infographic states that virtual currencies do not enjoy legal tender status on par with the Namibia Dollar.
The Bank of Namibia has issued no statement that stablecoins may qualify as electronic money, and its Revised Position of August 2022 states the opposite, that the Bank does not recognise virtual assets as electronic money in Namibia. Determination PSD-3 confines electronic money to monetary value issued on receipt of legal tender, denominated in Namibia Dollar and redeemable on demand for cash in Namibia Dollar, and it was made under section 45 of the Payment System Management Act, 2023 (Act No. 14 of 2023) rather than the 2003 Act.
The Financial Institutions and Markets Act, 2021 (Act No. 2 of 2021), gazetted as Government Notice 207 in Government Gazette 7645 of 1 October 2021 and administered by NAMFISA, carries no virtual-asset, crypto, stablecoin or electronic-money provision, and section 1 of the Virtual Assets Act, 2023 excludes securities and other financial assets regulated under Namibian securities or financial assets law from the definition of a virtual asset.
Namibia's dedicated virtual-asset framework is already in force: the Virtual Assets Act, 2023 (Act No. 10 of 2023) was assented on 14 July 2023, published as Government Notice 215 in Government Gazette 8143 of 21 July 2023 and commenced on 25 July 2023, and the Bank of Namibia made seven rules under it gazetted on 1 September 2023 as Government Notices 512 to 518 in Government Gazettes 8196 to 8202. Schedule 1 to the Act sets six licence classes and creates no separate stablecoin or issuer category.
Namibia's payment system and electronic money regime rests on the Payment System Management Act, 2023 (Act No. 14 of 2023); the Bank of Namibia issued Determination PSD-3 on the Issuing of Electronic Money in Namibia under section 45 of that Act on 15 September 2024, effective 27 March 2025, and PSD-3 defines electronic money as monetary value stored electronically, issued on receipt of an equivalent amount of legal tender, accepted by persons other than the issuer and redeemable on demand for cash in Namibia Dollar.
The Financial Institutions and Markets Act, 2021 is Act No. 2 of 2021, published as Government Notice 207 in Government Gazette 7645 of 1 October 2021, administered by NAMFISA, and it consolidates and harmonises the laws regulating financial institutions, financial intermediaries and financial markets in Namibia while carrying no virtual-asset, crypto, stablecoin or electronic-money provision.
Namibia imposes no stablecoin reserve-backing duty: the Virtual Assets Act, 2023 (Act No. 10 of 2023) and the seven Bank of Namibia rules of 1 September 2023 published as Government Notices 512 to 518 use the word stablecoin nowhere and contain no reserve, backing or redemption provision, and Government Notice 513 sets only class-based minimum capital of N$1 000 000 for a Virtual Asset Broker-Dealer, N$2 000 000 for a Virtual Asset Custodian and N$2 700 000 for a Virtual Asset Market Place.
The Bank of Namibia's virtual-asset rulebook was completed in 2023 rather than pending: seven rules made under the Virtual Assets Act, 2023 were gazetted on 1 September 2023 in Government Gazettes 8196 to 8202 as Government Notices 512 to 518, covering advertising, capital and other financial requirements, risk management, custody of client assets, cyber security, statutory returns and client disclosure, and none of them imposes a reserve requirement on any stablecoin issuer.
Issuing electronic money in Namibia requires a person to be licensed or authorised as a payment service provider by the Bank of Namibia under paragraph 8.1 of Determination PSD-3, made under section 45 of the Payment System Management Act, 2023 (Act No. 14 of 2023) and effective 27 March 2025; stablecoins fall outside that determination because the Bank does not recognise virtual assets as electronic money.
The Financial Institutions and Markets Act, 2021 (Act No. 2 of 2021) carries no virtual-asset, crypto or stablecoin provision, so Namibian securities law creates no stablecoin licence; a stablecoin that is not a security regulated under Namibian securities or financial assets law falls within the section 1 virtual-asset definition of the Virtual Assets Act, 2023 and is licensed by the Bank of Namibia in one of the six Schedule 1 classes.
Electronic money in Namibia must be denominated in Namibia Dollar and redeemed at par value under paragraph 9.1.1 of Bank of Namibia Determination PSD-3, issued on 15 September 2024 under section 45 of the Payment System Management Act, 2023 and effective 27 March 2025, and the definition of electronic money itself requires redeemability on demand for cash in Namibia Dollar; that redemption right attaches to Namibia Dollar e-money and reaches no stablecoin.
The Bank of Namibia has published nothing on asset-backed stablecoins or on classifying them as electronic money: the word stablecoin appears in neither the Revised Position on Virtual Assets of August 2022, the Regulatory Framework for FinTech Innovation of 3 March 2026, nor any of the Virtual Assets Act rules gazetted on 1 September 2023, and the Revised Position states that the Bank does not recognise virtual assets as electronic money in Namibia.
Securities Classification
Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (NAMFISA) – Official Licensing Guidelines
Bank of Namibia – Financial Stability Reports and Public Notices
Financial Intelligence Centre of Namibia – Laws and Regulations
Financial Institutions and Markets Act (Act No. 2 of 2021) – Government Gazette of the Republic of Namibia, No. 7521, dated 23 April 2021
Financial Intelligence Act (Act No. 13 of 2012) – Government Gazette of the Republic of Namibia
Prevention of Organized Crime Act (Act No. 29 of 2004) – Government Gazette of the Republic of Namibia
Income Tax Act (Act No. 24 of 1981) – Government Gazette of the Republic of Namibia
Value-Added Tax Act (Act No. 10 of 2000) – Government Gazette of the Republic of Namibia
ESAAMLG Mutual Evaluation Report – Namibia (2023)
FATF Recommendation 15 – Virtual Assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers (June 2019)
Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Listing Requirements
Sanctions & Restrictions
Sanctions data collection in progress.
Enforcement Actions
The Bank of Namibia is the Regulatory Authority designated under section 5(1) of the Virtual Assets Act 10 of 2023, makes the rules that govern virtual asset service providers, and grants their authorisations, while NAMFISA holds no virtual-asset licensing or supervisory role.
The Bank of Namibia's comprehensive virtual-asset paper is the Revised Position on Virtual Assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers dated August 2022, and no Bank of Namibia virtual-asset release of 15 June 2022 was located on the Bank's own site.
The Bank of Namibia's August 2022 revised position, which described virtual assets as under-regulated and denied them legal tender or electronic money status, was overtaken by the Virtual Assets Act 10 of 2023 and by the Bank's rules of 1 September 2023, under which a virtual asset service provider must hold a Bank of Namibia licence and register with the Financial Intelligence Centre as an accountable institution.
The Bank of Namibia path bon.com.na/CMSTemplates/BankOfNamibia/docs/press_releases/ returns HTTP 404; the Bank's virtual-asset position paper is served from bon.com.na/CMSTemplates/Bon/Files/bon.com.na/ and is dated August 2022 rather than 15 June 2022.
Namibia's virtual-asset regulator is the Bank of Namibia, designated as the Regulatory Authority under section 5(1) of the Virtual Assets Act, 2023 (Act No. 10 of 2023) and named as the maker of all seven rules gazetted on 1 September 2023; NAMFISA has no virtual-asset licensing or supervisory function, and AML/CFT supervision of virtual asset service providers rests with the Financial Intelligence Centre under the Financial Intelligence Act 13 of 2012.
Research & Articles
Regulatory Forecast
high confidenceLikely enforcement action expected around 2026-06-08
Based on 67 historical regulatory events for Namibia, averaging every 47 days, with increasing regulatory activity.
Recent Updates
Current Status: Namibia does not currently have a dedicated, fully enacted licensing regime specifically for digi...
Current Status: Namibia does not currently have a dedicated, fully enacted licensing regime specifically for digital asset custodians. However, the Bank of Namibia (BoN) has clearly indicated its intention to regulate VASPs, which include custodians, under a future framework.
BoN Position Paper: In a landmark move, the Bank of Namibia released its Position Paper on Virtual Assets and V...
BoN Position Paper: In a landmark move, the Bank of Namibia released its Position Paper on Virtual Assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers (VAs and VASPs) in May 2022. This paper outlines the BoN's stance and proposed approach to regulating VASPs.
Current Status: While specific legislation explicitly mandating the segregation of client digital assets for cust...
Current Status: While specific legislation explicitly mandating the segregation of client digital assets for custodians is not yet enacted, the BoN Position Paper (May 2022) highlights best practices and internationally recognized principles (such as those from FATF and IOSCO).
Future Intent: As the regulatory framework matures and prudential requirements are developed, it is possible that...
Future Intent: As the regulatory framework matures and prudential requirements are developed, it is possible that insurance or bonding mandates may be introduced to cover potential losses due to theft, hacking, or operational errors. This would align with international best practices for safeguarding client assets.
BoN Definition of VASP: The BoN Position Paper defines a VASP consistent with FATF guidelines, which includes ent...
BoN Definition of VASP: The BoN Position Paper defines a VASP consistent with FATF guidelines, which includes entities that:
Bank of Namibia Framework: The most significant pending legislation directly impacting custody is the framework b...
Bank of Namibia Framework: The most significant pending legislation directly impacting custody is the framework being developed by the Bank of Namibia. The BoN Position Paper (May 2022) clearly states the intention to:
Regulatory Sandbox: NAMFISA operates a regulatory sandbox for financial innovation. While not specific to custody...
Regulatory Sandbox: NAMFISA operates a regulatory sandbox for financial innovation. While not specific to custody, innovative custody solutions could potentially be tested within this sandbox before broader regulation is finalized.
The Bank of Namibia has consistently stated that cryptocurrencies are not legal tender in Namibia.
The Bank of Namibia has consistently stated that cryptocurrencies are not legal tender in Namibia.
They have often issued warnings to the public about the risks associated with investing in and using cryptocurrencies.
They have often issued warnings to the public about the risks associated with investing in and using cryptocurrencies.
The BoN has indicated it is exploring a regulatory framework for virtual assets and has discussed concepts like regul...
The BoN has indicated it is exploring a regulatory framework for virtual assets and has discussed concepts like regulatory sandboxes, but this is a developing area. This regulatory uncertainty also contributes to the lack of specific tax guidance.
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