Bahrain

DeFi Intel Research Desk2026-07-12Asia

Is crypto legal in Bahrain? (2026)

Yes — cryptocurrency is legal in Bahrain. Current status: Legal — CBB-licensed. Oversight sits with Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). Full details — governing law, licensing, tax and dated enforcement history — follow below (last reviewed 2026-07-12).

Framework: CBB Rulebook Volume 6 (Capital Markets) — Crypto-Asset Module (first issued February 2019) + Stablecoin Issuance and Offering (SIO) Module (July 2025).

Bahrain runs one of the Gulf's oldest comprehensive crypto regimes. The Central Bank of Bahrain's Crypto-Asset Module (Rulebook Volume 6) has, since 2019, licensed trading, dealing as principal or agent, advisory services, portfolio management, custody and crypto-asset exchange operation within or from the Kingdom, in tiered licence categories; Category 4 licensees (the fullest scope) must maintain their head office in Bahrain. In July 2025 the CBB added the Stablecoin Issuance and Offering (SIO) Module — the first comprehensive Gulf framework explicitly for fiat-backed stablecoins. Only CBB-licensed issuers may issue single-currency stablecoins backed by Bahraini dinar, US dollar or another fiat currency the CBB accepts, and issuers must maintain 1:1 reserves in high-quality liquid assets, hold them in segregated accounts, and submit to independent audits. The first licence under the framework was granted in June 2026 to AX Coin Bahrain B.S.C. (c), making it the CBB's first licensed stablecoin issuer.

Tax treatment

Pending verification — DeFi Intel has not verified crypto-specific tax guidance for Bahrain in this research cycle.

Travel rule applicability

Status: CBB supervision. Crypto-asset licensees operate under the CBB's directives in Rulebook Volume 6; the SIO Module layers issuer-level reserve, audit and disclosure duties on top. Bahrain-specific transfer-data thresholds are pending verification.

Notable enforcement actions

• 2022. Binance Bahrain became the first crypto-asset service provider granted a full Category 4 licence by the CBB (May 2022).
• 2025. The CBB issued the SIO stablecoin framework (July 2025); BPay Global, a Binance subsidiary, received a CBB payment-service-provider licence on 9 April 2025 — the first PSP licence granted to a Binance-affiliated entity globally.
• 2026. AX Coin Bahrain B.S.C. (c) became the first stablecoin issuer licensed under the CBB's SIO framework (June 2026).

Public licensed CASP list

CBB-licensed crypto-asset providers include Binance Bahrain (Category 4, May 2022), CoinMENA (Category 3, Sharia-compliant exchange) and Rain, a Bahrain-headquartered exchange serving the Middle East and Turkey. The CBB maintains the authoritative licensee register.

Comparison to neighbours

Compare Bahrain crypto regulation with three geographically adjacent jurisdictions:

Doing business in Bahrain — practical notes

Both crypto-asset services and stablecoin issuance require prior CBB licensing; applications demand business plans and financial projections, corporate-governance frameworks, IT and cybersecurity architecture, and capital-adequacy assessments with ongoing compliance plans. Category 4 operators must be headquartered in Bahrain, which anchors substance locally.

Methodology and sources

This profile was researched and updated by DeFi Intel's research desk on 2026-07-12 from the primary and secondary sources listed below. Claims that could not be verified against a source are omitted or marked pending — we do not republish unverified third-party datasets. Submit corrections and primary-source links to [email protected].

Sources

• Central Bank of Bahrain — stablecoin issuance framework (official)
• CBB Rulebook Volume 6 — Crypto-Asset Module (official PDF)
• PR Newswire — Binance Bahrain first full Category 4 licence (2022)
• Legal 500 — Bahrain stablecoin framework analysis (2025)
• Pinsent Masons — SIO framework commentary (2025)
• GlobeNewswire — AX Coin granted first CBB stablecoin issuer licence (June 2026)
• Central Bank of Bahrain — licence granted to BPay Global (April 2025, official)