Chad -- Licensing Requirements Regulatory Overview
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As of my last update in early 2023, Chad, as a member state of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), adheres to the financial regulations issued by the regional central bank, the Bank of Central African States (BEAC). The BEAC has taken a very restrictive, bordering on prohibitive, stance on cryptocurrencies and virtual assets within the CEMAC zone.
Therefore, the short answer is that there is no established licensing regime for cryptocurrency exchanges, custody providers, or payment processors in Chad. Instead, there is a regional prohibition or strong discouragement against their use and commercial activities.
1. Overall Regulatory Stance (Chad/CEMAC)
The BEAC has explicitly warned against and, in practice, prohibited the use and commercialization of cryptocurrencies. This means that:
- No specific licenses exist for virtual asset service providers (VASPs) like exchanges, custody providers, or payment processors.
- Engaging in such activities commercially is unauthorized and risky, potentially leading to legal consequences, fines, and operational disruption.
2. Required Licenses for Exchanges, Custody Providers, and Payment Processors
Given the BEAC's stance, there are no recognized or required licenses for these activities in Chad. Any entity attempting to operate a cryptocurrency exchange, provide custody services for virtual assets, or process payments using cryptocurrencies would be doing so outside the regulated financial system and in contravention of BEAC's directives.
3. Registration vs. Licensing Regime
This is a prohibition regime rather than a registration or licensing regime. The BEAC's directives aim to prevent the widespread adoption and use of cryptocurrencies due to concerns about monetary sovereignty, financial stability, consumer protection, and money laundering/terrorism financing (AML/CFT) risks.
4. Key Requirements (Capital, AML/KYC, Local Presence)
Since there's no licensing regime, there are no specific capital requirements, official AML/KYC guidelines for licensed crypto businesses, or explicit local presence rules for VASPs.
However, if a traditional financial institution (e.g., a bank) were to encounter cryptocurrency-related transactions, they would be expected to apply their existing general AML/CFT obligations, including customer due diligence (KYC) and suspicious transaction reporting, under Chad's national AML/CFT laws and regulations, which are aligned with FATF standards. Chad's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the National Agency for Financial Investigation (ANIF), would be the responsible body for enforcing these.
5. Application Process
There is no application process for cryptocurrency licenses in Chad, as such licenses are not issued.
6. Specific Regulatory References with URLs
The primary regulatory documents governing this stance come from the BEAC:
Instruction N°001/GR/2021/DG/DGPOM/DGA/DDPC portant interdiction de la détention et de l’utilisation des cryptomonnaies et autres actifs numériques dans la CEMAC (Instruction No. 001/GR/2021/DG/DGPOM/DGA/DDPC prohibiting the holding and use of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets in CEMAC). This instruction, issued by the Governor of BEAC, explicitly prohibits financial institutions and other economic actors within the CEMAC zone from holding, using, or dealing with cryptocurrencies. While official direct links can be hard to find consistently on BEAC's main site, this instruction was widely reported by financial news outlets within the region.
- Finding a direct, stable URL for BEAC documents can sometimes be challenging as their website structure changes, but this instruction is well-known in regional financial circles. You might find references to it in news articles or legal analyses, such as:
- A reference in an EY document: https://www.ey.com/en_ca/tax/fintech/beac-confirms-its-crypto-ban (This isn't the BEAC link itself, but a reputable firm referencing the instruction.)
- Finding a direct, stable URL for BEAC documents can sometimes be challenging as their website structure changes, but this instruction is well-known in regional financial circles. You might find references to it in news articles or legal analyses, such as:
Communiqué N°010/GR/2022 du Gouverneur de la BEAC du 28 avril 2022 relatif à la suspension de la commercialisation et de la publicité des cryptomonnaies dans la CEMAC (Communique No. 010/GR/2022 from the Governor of BEAC dated April 28, 2022, concerning the suspension of the marketing and advertising of cryptocurrencies in CEMAC). This communiqué further reinforces the prohibition, specifically targeting marketing and commercialization efforts.
- Similarly, direct BEAC links are volatile, but news reports widely covered this:
- An article mentioning the communique: https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/cemac-central-bank-bans-crypto-advertising-and-commercialization/
- Similarly, direct BEAC links are volatile, but news reports widely covered this:
For AML/CFT: Chad's general AML/CFT framework is based on national laws and the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
- ANIF (Agence Nationale d’Investigation Financière): Chad's FIU is responsible for implementing AML/CFT measures. While they don't have specific VASP regulations, their general mandate covers suspicious transactions related to any financial activity.
- Official website (if available, can be hard to find for all FIUs): Search for "ANIF Tchad" or "Agence Nationale d’Investigation Financière Tchad".
Conclusion
In summary, Chad, through its adherence to BEAC directives, maintains a highly restrictive environment for cryptocurrencies. There are no licenses available for crypto exchanges, custody providers, or payment processors. Engaging in such activities is considered unauthorized and carries significant legal and operational risks. Any entity considering virtual asset operations in Chad should consult with local legal counsel specializing in Chadian and CEMAC financial law to understand the full scope of risks and prohibitions.
Source Data
Custody of digital assets for third parties is a licensed activity binding in Chad: art. 160 of Règlement n° 01/22/CEMAC/UMAC/CM/COSUMAF du 21 juillet 2022 lists conservation d'actifs numériques pour le compte de tiers among PSAN services and art. 144 requires a prior COSUMAF agrément, while COSUMAF has adopted no PSAN implementing instruction, fixed no minimum capital and granted zero agréments. Décision COBAC D-2022/071 du 6 mai 2022 separately bars COBAC-supervised institutions from holding or converting crypto-assets.
The CEMAC measure restricting crypto-assets is Décision COBAC D-2022/071 du 6 mai 2022, issued by COBAC and binding only COBAC-supervised institutions, and a dedicated PSAN licence exists under art. 144 of Règlement n° 01/22/CEMAC/UMAC/CM/COSUMAF granted by COSUMAF rather than BEAC.
No CEMAC or Chadian instrument sets client-asset segregation rules specific to digital assets; the cantonnement obligation in Règlement n° 04/18/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC du 21 décembre 2018 covers payment-service funds only, and the COSUMAF Règlement Général of 23 May 2023 leaves PSAN custody arrangements to a future implementing instruction.
CEMAC law imposes no insurance or bonding requirement on digital-asset custodians, and custody for third parties remains a permitted PSAN activity under art. 160 of Règlement n° 01/22/CEMAC/UMAC/CM/COSUMAF subject to COSUMAF agrément.
CEMAC law regulates digital-asset custody through the PSAN category rather than a 'qualified custodian' concept: art. 1 of the COSUMAF Règlement Général of 23 May 2023 defines the prestataire de services sur actifs numériques as including conservation d'actifs numériques, and COSUMAF rather than BEAC is the competent authority.
CEMAC legislation on virtual assets is in force rather than pending: Règlement n° 01/22/CEMAC/UMAC/CM/COSUMAF du 21 juillet 2022 applies from 1 August 2022, the COSUMAF Règlement Général of 23 May 2023 from 24 May 2023, and Règlement n° 02/24/CEMAC/UMAC/CM du 20 décembre 2024 makes virtual-asset service providers assujettis for AML purposes across Chad.
No BEAC circular on crypto-assets exists; the CEMAC measure is Décision COBAC D-2022/071 du 6 mai 2022, and the real BEAC Instruction n° 001/GR/2022 concerns declaration of import domiciliation in the extractive sector.
The CEMAC crypto measure is Décision COBAC D-2022/071 du 6 mai 2022, which prohibits only COBAC-supervised institutions from acquiring, holding, transferring or converting crypto-assets and leaves private persons in CEMAC free to hold and use them.
Virtual-asset service providers are licensable rather than banned in Chad: art. 144 of Règlement n° 01/22/CEMAC/UMAC/CM/COSUMAF requires a COSUMAF agrément for PSAN activity and art. 42 of Règlement n° 02/24/CEMAC/UMAC/CM conditions PSAV activity on prior agrément, with Décision COBAC D-2022/071 closing only the regulated banking channel.
The measure of 6 May 2022 is Décision COBAC D-2022/071, taken by the Commission Bancaire de l'Afrique Centrale and addressed to COBAC-supervised credit institutions, microfinance establishments and payment institutions, not a BEAC circular imposing an absolute regional prohibition.
Reference: BEAC Circular No. 001/GR/2022 (While an official English translation with a direct URL is often hard to find for BEAC documents, the French original is widely referenced in news and analysis concerning the region. An example reference in a public document might be: https://www.beac.int/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/COMMUNIQUE-DE-PRESSE-SUR-LA-POSITION-DE-LA-BEAC-VIS-A-VIS-DE-LA-CRYPTOMONNAIE.pdf - This is a press release related to the circular, not the circular itself, but confirms the stance.)
No instrument numbered R-2023/CEMAC/UMAC/CM/04 exists; the CEMAC virtual-asset framework rests on Règlement n° 01/22/CEMAC/UMAC/CM/COSUMAF du 21 juillet 2022 and the COSUMAF Règlement Général of 23 May 2023, both administered by COSUMAF rather than BEAC.
Art. 2 of Règlement n° 02/24/CEMAC/UMAC/CM du 20 décembre 2024 defines an actif virtuel as a digital representation of value that can be traded or transferred digitally and used for payment or investment, a definition wide enough to capture stablecoins.
CEMAC law does not split virtual assets into 'crypto-assets' and 'digital tokens': art. 76 of Règlement n° 01/22/CEMAC/UMAC/CM/COSUMAF defines the jeton numérique and applies the appel public à l'épargne regime to it, while art. 1 of the COSUMAF Règlement Général defines jeton as an intangible right issued, recorded or transferred on a dispositif d'enregistrement électronique partagé.
Authorisation for virtual-asset activity in CEMAC comes from COSUMAF under art. 144 of Règlement n° 01/22/CEMAC/UMAC/CM/COSUMAF and the COSUMAF Règlement Général of 23 May 2023, and BEAC has issued no virtual-asset instrument of any kind.
Stablecoins fall within the actif virtuel definition at art. 2 of Règlement n° 02/24/CEMAC/UMAC/CM and any service on them requires a COSUMAF agrément under art. 144 of Règlement n° 01/22/CEMAC/UMAC/CM/COSUMAF, an authorisation COSUMAF has granted to nobody, which leaves the activity unlicensed rather than prohibited.
Reference: BEAC Regulation R-2023/CEMAC/UMAC/CM/04 (Full text might require direct access to BEAC official publications, but its existence and key provisions are widely reported. The official source would be the BEAC website's legal section once published for public access: https://www.beac.int/)
CEMAC law fixes no reserve or backing requirement for stablecoins, and stablecoin activity is unlicensed rather than prohibited because COSUMAF has adopted no PSAN implementing instruction under the Règlement Général of 23 May 2023.
The CEMAC e-money and payment-services instrument is Règlement n° 04/18/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC du 21 décembre 2018, in force 1 January 2019 and implemented by Règlement COBAC R-2019/02, and no instrument numbered R-2018/CEMAC/UMAC/CM/30 exists.
Maintain 100% backing of all e-money issued with liquid, low-risk assets (e.g., deposits in BEAC-approved banks).
Segregate customer funds from operational funds.
Reference: BEAC Regulation R-2018/CEMAC/UMAC/CM/30 on Electronic Money Institutions (Available in French on the BEAC website, e.g., https://www.beac.int/regulations/)
A person wishing to provide digital-asset services in CEMAC applies to COSUMAF for a PSAN agrément under art. 144 of Règlement n° 01/22/CEMAC/UMAC/CM/COSUMAF and the COSUMAF Règlement Général of 23 May 2023, and COSUMAF had issued no such agrément as of June 2025.
CEMAC law attaches no redemption right to virtual assets, since the reimbursement obligation in Règlement n° 04/18/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC applies to monnaie électronique as a claim on the issuing establishment, while stablecoins fall under the unlicensed PSAN regime rather than a prohibition.
Electronic money in CEMAC is governed by Règlement n° 04/18/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC du 21 décembre 2018, which defines it as a claim on the issuing establishment accepted as a means of payment and requires client funds to be placed in a compte de cantonnement by the day after receipt, shielded from the provider's other creditors.
No CEMAC or Chadian instrument addresses algorithmic stablecoins, which fall by default within the actif virtuel definition at art. 2 of Règlement n° 02/24/CEMAC/UMAC/CM and within the COSUMAF PSAN agrément regime that has produced no authorisations.
BEAC is working towards a central bank digital currency for the CEMAC zone: a digital-currency working group was set up with the IMF and BEAC hosted a BEAC-IMF seminar on central bank digital currencies and crypto-asset regulation in Yaoundé from 23 to 27 February 2026 with COBAC, COSUMAF, GABAC and the Financial Stability Board. The project is designated a monnaie numérique de banque centrale (MNBC) or digital CFA franc; no BEAC instrument uses the name eCFA, which belongs to a 2016 pilot in the BCEAO zone.
The BEAC-IMF CEMAC seminar of 23 to 27 February 2026 framed a future central bank digital currency around financial stability, financial inclusion, digital transformation and the legal framework, and the integrity of the financial system including AML/CFT. BEAC has issued no instrument setting out objectives for an instrument named eCFA.
If an eCFA is implemented, it would likely be the sole recognized and regulated digital form of the regional currency. This would further solidify the BEAC's control over the digital money landscape and implicitly reinforce the prohibitive stance against private stablecoins, which would be seen as competing with or potentially undermining the stability of the national currency and the eCFA. The BEAC's move towards a CBDC often comes with a desire to tightly control the digital financial ecosystem.
Reference: Various BEAC press releases and statements regarding its digital transformation and exploration of CBDCs (e.g., https://www.beac.int/)
BEAC is the common central bank of the six CEMAC member states including Chad and conducts monetary policy and the regional payment systems, and it maintains a Direction Nationale in N'Djamena. Prudential regulation and supervision of Chadian banks, microfinance and payment institutions belongs to COBAC, and regulation of the financial market and of prestataires de services sur actifs numériques belongs to COSUMAF, so BEAC is not the primary financial-sector regulator.
BEAC operates a Direction Nationale in N'Djamena for Chad, headed by Idriss Ahmed Idriss, with agencies in Moundou, Sarh and Abéché; it applies BEAC decisions nationally and holds no regulatory competence of its own.
Chad has enacted no national virtual-asset statute, and its AML/CFT statute remains Loi n° 29/PR/2018 on money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing. Virtual-asset obligations nevertheless bind Chadian entities directly through Règlement n° 02/24/CEMAC/UMAC/CM of 20 December 2024, which lists prestataires de services sur actifs virtuels among the assujettis and requires prior agrément under article 42, and through the COSUMAF Règlement Général of 23 May 2023, which defines jeton and PSAN.
No BEAC Circular n° 001/GR/2022 on cryptocurrency exists. BEAC's own register of instructions, circulars and règlements lists no crypto or virtual-asset text at all, and its 2022 entries are a Décision du Gouverneur n° 013/GR/2022 on a postal payment platform; the real Instruction n° 001/GR/2021 concerns the Centrale des Incidents de Paiement. The binding regional crypto measure is Décision COBAC D-2022/071 of 6 May 2022.
Content: This circular reiterated the BEAC's firm stance against cryptocurrencies and virtual assets. It notably:
Crypto-assets are not legal tender anywhere in the CEMAC zone, where the franc CFA BEAC issued by BEAC is the sole legal tender, and Règlement n° 02/24/CEMAC/UMAC/CM of 20 December 2024 treats an actif virtuel as a digital representation of value that can be traded or transferred rather than as currency. That position rests on the CEMAC règlements and on Décision COBAC D-2022/071 of 6 May 2022, not on any BEAC circular of December 2022.
Décision COBAC D-2022/071 of 6 May 2022, issued by COBAC and not by BEAC, bars COBAC-supervised institutions — credit institutions, microfinance establishments and payment institutions — from intervening in any crypto-asset transaction on their own account or for third parties, from holding, exchanging or converting crypto-assets and from booking them in their accounts, and requires them to detect such operations and report them to COBAC and BEAC.
BEAC issued no December 2022 circular warning the public about virtual assets: its register of instructions, circulars and règlements contains no such text, and the BEAC crypto press-release PDF cited across this file returns HTTP 404. The operative regional measure is Décision COBAC D-2022/071 of 6 May 2022, which addresses supervised institutions and requires them to report crypto operations to COBAC and BEAC.
Virtual assets are regulated across the CEMAC zone: Règlement n° 01/22/CEMAC/UMAC/CM/COSUMAF of 21 July 2022 applies the public-offering regime to jetons numériques and requires COSUMAF agrément, the COSUMAF Règlement Général of 23 May 2023 defines jeton and prestataire de services sur actifs numériques and brings them into risk-based AML/CFT supervision, and Règlement n° 02/24/CEMAC/UMAC/CM of 20 December 2024 makes PSAV assujettis subject to prior agrément, a 500 000 FCFA occasional-transaction threshold, ten-year record retention and suspicious-transaction reporting to ANIF.
Note: Direct links to the full text of BEAC circulars can be challenging to find publicly on their website. However, the content and implications were widely reported by major news agencies.
Chad prohibits no individual from buying, selling or holding crypto-assets, because Décision COBAC D-2022/071 of 6 May 2022 binds only COBAC-supervised institutions. Professional virtual-asset activity is regulated: article 42 of Règlement n° 02/24/CEMAC/UMAC/CM of 20 December 2024 forbids acting as a prestataire de services sur actifs virtuels without prior agrément, and the COSUMAF Règlement Général of 23 May 2023 sets the PSAN regime that applies in Chad.
Risks: Individuals face significant risks including market volatility, scams, lack of recourse in disputes, and potential difficulties in converting crypto to fiat currency via traditional banking channels due to BEAC restrictions on banks.
No virtual-asset service provider holds a COSUMAF agrément or any Chadian authorisation, and GABAC rated Chad non-compliant on Recommendation 15 in the mutual evaluation report adopted on 7 April 2023, finding that PSAV were then neither regulated nor supervised in Chad. A licensing regime is nevertheless in force: COSUMAF is the designated competent authority for prestataires de services sur actifs numériques under its Règlement Général of 23 May 2023, and article 42 of Règlement n° 02/24/CEMAC/UMAC/CM of 20 December 2024 forbids professional virtual-asset activity without prior agrément.
Chadian users reach crypto markets through offshore platforms and peer-to-peer channels because Décision COBAC D-2022/071 of 6 May 2022 bars credit institutions, microfinance establishments and payment institutions supervised by COBAC from handling crypto-asset transactions for their own account or for clients, which closes the fiat on-ramp through regulated Chadian institutions. The restriction is a COBAC décision binding supervised institutions, not a BEAC prohibition on users.
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References
This article was generated by SearXNG+LLM .
Primary Sources
Central African Regulator Bans Crypto With Dire Warning. (n.d.). Central African Regulator Bans Crypto With Dire Warning. Retrieved April 21, 2026, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-07/central-african-regulator-bans-crypto-with-dire-warning
Central Africa financial regulator bans crypto use across six nations. (n.d.). Central Africa financial regulator bans crypto use across six nations. Retrieved April 21, 2026, from https://finance.yahoo.com/news/central-africa-financial-regulator-bans-163836376.html
https://www.treasury.gov/ofac/downloads/sdnlist.txt. (n.d.). treasury.gov. Retrieved April 21, 2026, from https://www.treasury.gov/ofac/downloads/sdnlist.txt
Secondary Sources
ey.com. (n.d.). ey.com. Retrieved April 22, 2026, from https://www.ey.com/en_ca/tax/fintech/beac-confirms-its-crypto-ban
africa.businessinsider.com. (n.d.). africa.businessinsider.com. Retrieved April 22, 2026, from https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/cemac-central-bank-bans-crypto-advertising-and-commercialization/
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