Namibia

DeFi Intel Research Desk2026-07-14Africa

Is crypto legal in Namibia? (2026)

Yes — cryptocurrency is legal under licence in Namibia. Current status: Regulated via BoN licence; not legal tender. Oversight sits with Bank of Namibia (Regulatory Authority). Full details — governing law, licensing, tax and dated enforcement history — follow below (last reviewed 2026-07-14).

Framework: The Virtual Assets Act, 2023 (Act No. 10 of 2023) is Namibia's first dedicated cryptoasset statute. It was signed in July 2023 and brought into operation on 25 July 2023 by Government Notice (Government Gazette No. 8148, GN 218/2023), making Namibia one of the first African states to enact a comprehensive licensing regime for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) and Initial Token-Offering Service Providers (ITOSPs). The Act designates the Bank of Namibia (BoN) as the Regulatory Authority responsible for licensing and supervising these providers.

The Act reverses Namibia's earlier prohibition posture. In September 2017 the central bank argued that, under a 1961 exchange-control law, establishing virtual-currency exchanges was illegal, and a May 2018 statement reiterated that cryptocurrencies are not legal tender and that the public would have no recourse to the Bank for losses. In October 2022 the BoN clarified that virtual assets "remain without legal tender status" but that merchants may accept them as payment where both parties are willing — the Namibia Dollar remains the sole legal tender. Under the VAA, no person may provide virtual asset services without a BoN licence: a provider must be a company incorporated or registered in Namibia with a local office and transaction records, and applicants, officers and beneficial owners must satisfy the Bank's "Fit and Proper Person Guidelines" issued under section 4(2). Operating without a licence is an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding N$10,000,000 (about US$670,000) or imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both. Licensing follows a two-step model — a provisional authorisation valid for six months (during which pre-authorisation conditions must be met and the entity may not transact with the Namibian public) followed by a full operational licence.

Tax treatment

Namibia does not levy a separate capital-gains tax. Gains that are genuinely capital in nature are generally outside the income-tax net, whereas proceeds from the habitual buying and selling of assets (i.e. trading) are treated as ordinary revenue and taxed. Income tax is administered by the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) under the Income Tax Act 24 of 1981 on a source basis — Namibian-source income only. The Virtual Assets Act itself is silent on taxation, so cryptoasset gains fall to be assessed under these general principles; dedicated crypto-specific tax guidance is pending verification.

• Capital-gains rate (general): No separate CGT; genuine capital gains generally untaxed, but trading profits taxed as ordinary income
• Holding-period rule: Pending verification — a capital-vs-revenue intention test applies rather than a fixed holding period

Travel rule applicability

Status: in force for licensed VASPs. VASPs are "accountable institutions" and must register with the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) under the Financial Intelligence Act, applying customer due diligence and AML/CFT controls. Secondary reporting indicates the FATF travel rule applies to virtual-asset transfers exceeding NAD 20,000 (approximately US$1,000), for which providers must collect and transmit originator and beneficiary information (names, identification and account details). Confirm the exact threshold against the Bank of Namibia's transfer-of-virtual-assets rules before relying on it.

Notable enforcement actions

• 2017–2018. The Bank of Namibia issued position statements declaring cryptocurrency exchanges illegal under a 1961 law and warning that virtual currencies are not legal tender and carry no recourse for losses — the restrictive baseline later superseded by the VAA.
• 13 January 2025. The BoN granted provisional authorisations to four entities: for payment services, Finatic Technologies (Pty) Ltd and United PayPoint (Pty) Ltd; for virtual asset services, Mindex Virtual Asset Exchange (Pty) Ltd and Landifa Bitcoin Trade CC — each valid six months and barred from transacting with the public during that window.
• August 2025. The BoN reported it was still conducting due diligence on compliance with the provisional conditions; provisional periods were extended (e.g. Mindex to 21 November 2025) and no full operational licence had yet been granted.

Public licensed CASP list

The Bank of Namibia publishes authorisation decisions through its media releases rather than a standing public register. As of the sources reviewed (mid-2025), the only virtual-asset entities holding BoN authorisation were the two provisionally authorised VASPs — Mindex Virtual Asset Exchange (Pty) Ltd and Landifa Bitcoin Trade CC — neither of which had yet converted its provisional authorisation into a full operational licence. No fully licensed VASP had been confirmed at the time of writing. Submit corrections and primary-source links to [email protected].

Comparison to neighbours

Compare Namibia crypto regulation with three geographically adjacent jurisdictions:

Doing business in Namibia — practical notes

Serving Namibian residents in 2026 requires a Bank of Namibia licence under the Virtual Assets Act. A locally incorporated or registered entity, a Namibian office, transaction record-keeping and FIC registration as an accountable institution are hard requirements, and directors and beneficial owners must pass the fit-and-proper test. The provisional-to-full pathway runs at least six months and, as of 2025, no applicant had yet secured a full operational licence. Crypto is not legal tender, and consumers who transact bear the risk of loss without central-bank recourse. Verify the current status of any counterparty's authorisation directly with the Bank of Namibia before structuring.

Methodology and sources

This profile was researched and updated by DeFi Intel's research desk on 2026-07-14 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

• Bank of Namibia — Virtual Assets Act 2023 (Act No. 10 of 2023) landing page
• Bank of Namibia — media release: provisional authorisation of four entities (13 Jan 2025)
• Afriwise — the Virtual Assets Act 10 of 2023: commencement, Regulatory Authority, fit-and-proper
• NamibLII — Virtual Assets Act, 2023 (full text, incl. offence and penalty provisions)
• Bitcoin.com News — BoN: virtual assets remain without legal-tender status, merchants may accept them
• The Namibian — cryptocurrencies not legal tender, Bank of Namibia insists (2018 position)
• allAfrica — Namibia central bank tests waters on crypto licences (Aug 2025 status update)
• PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Namibia individual taxation (no separate capital-gains tax)