Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency Regulation in Solomon Islands

Owning and using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is legal in the Solomon Islands in the sense that no statute bans it. There is equally no law that recognises crypto as money or grants it legal-tender status. The result is a permissive but unregulated environment: individuals and businesses may transact in digital assets, but they do so at their own risk and without the consumer protections that apply to licensed banks and financial services.

The only legal tender in the country is the Solomon Islands Dollar (SBD). Under the Central Bank of Solomon Islands Act 2012, the CBSI has the sole authority to issue currency, and that currency is the only legal tender; no merchant is obliged to accept Bitcoin or any other token as payment. The CBSI has made its stance explicit in a public notice on its position on cryptocurrencies, stating that virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple are not issued or regulated by the central bank and have no legal-tender status. In short: legal to use, but unrecognised and unprotected.

No single agency has been given a mandate to license or supervise crypto specifically. Two institutions are nonetheless the most relevant points of reference.

• Central Bank of Solomon Islands (CBSI) is the monetary authority. It issues the SBD, supervises licensed banks and financial institutions, and has published warnings on cryptocurrencies. It is also the body running the country's digital-currency experiment. Its official website is cbsi.com.sb.
• Solomon Islands Financial Intelligence Unit (SIFIU) is the national financial intelligence unit, hosted within the CBSI. It administers anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism-financing (AML/CFT) reporting and is the focal point for suspicious-transaction analysis.

The national tax authority, the Inland Revenue Division (IRD) of the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, is the relevant body for any tax questions. None of these agencies has issued crypto-specific licensing rules as of 2026, so the absence of a dedicated regulator is a defining feature of the landscape.

There is currently no bespoke statute that licenses crypto exchanges, custodians or token issuers in the Solomon Islands. Instead, activity is touched by a handful of general laws:

• Central Bank of Solomon Islands Act 2012 (No. 6 of 2012) establishes the CBSI, makes the SBD the sole legal tender, and gives the central bank exclusive authority to issue currency.
• Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, as amended by the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2010, is the core AML/CFT statute. It imposes customer due diligence and suspicious-transaction reporting obligations on financial institutions and other reporting entities.
• General criminal, contract and consumer law applies to fraud, theft and disputes involving crypto, even though crypto itself is not separately defined in law.

The country's AML/CFT framework is periodically assessed by the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) against the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards; its most recent mutual evaluation was published in 2019. Note that these laws were not written specifically for crypto, and the Solomon Islands has not yet enacted the FATF "travel rule" or a dedicated virtual-asset-service-provider (VASP) regime. See our overview of how crypto regulation works for context.

As of 2026 there is no crypto-specific licensing or registration regime in the Solomon Islands. A business cannot obtain a local "crypto exchange licence" or a virtual-asset-service-provider (VASP) registration, because no such category exists in law. There are no locally licensed cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the country.

That does not mean crypto businesses are entirely outside the law. A company dealing in crypto would still need ordinary business registration, and to the extent it touches the regulated banking system or qualifies as a reporting entity, the AML/CFT obligations under the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act can apply. Because supervision of newer financial sectors has historically been thin and capacity is limited, the lack of a tailored regime should not be read as a green light. Anyone planning a crypto business should seek legal advice and confirm the current position directly with the CBSI before launching.

The Solomon Islands does not have a tax regime written specifically for cryptocurrency, and the IRD has not published crypto-specific guidance. That does not automatically make crypto tax-free. The country operates a broadly territorial income-tax system and does not levy a general capital-gains tax, but general income and business tax principles can still apply depending on the facts. For example, profits from trading crypto as a business, or crypto received as payment for goods, services or employment, may fall within existing income or business tax rules administered by the IRD.

Because no crypto-specific guidance has been issued, the treatment of any given transaction is uncertain and fact-dependent. We deliberately do not quote crypto tax rates or thresholds here, as none have been verified for digital assets. Practical steps:

• Keep clear records of every acquisition, disposal, conversion and any crypto income, including dates and SBD values.
• Treat crypto received in the course of business or work as potentially taxable income unless advised otherwise.
• Confirm your obligations with the IRD and a qualified local accountant before filing.

This is general information, not tax advice. See our crypto tax basics for general concepts, and always verify the current local position with official sources.

The Solomon Islands' AML/CFT regime is built around the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (as amended in 2010) and is overseen by the SIFIU within the CBSI. While these laws were not written for crypto, banks and reporting entities must still apply customer due diligence (know-your-customer, or KYC), monitor transactions and file suspicious-transaction reports.

In practice this means that if you move crypto on or off a regulated bank account, or use a service that touches the local banking system or cross-border payment rails, identity checks and reporting can apply. Reputable international exchanges that accept regional customers will also run their own KYC. The country has not yet implemented a crypto-specific FATF travel-rule obligation, but the general AML duties on financial institutions are real and enforceable, so the absence of crypto-specific rules should not be mistaken for an absence of obligations.

With no locally licensed exchanges, residents who buy crypto typically do so through one of two routes:

• International exchanges that accept customers from the region, where available. Access can be limited and depends on each platform's own country list and verification requirements.
• Peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplaces, where buyers and sellers trade directly using local payment methods. P2P is common where banking rails to global exchanges are restricted, but it carries higher counterparty and scam risk.

Surveys suggest a meaningful minority of Solomon Islanders have used crypto, largely via P2P. Whatever the route, expect identity verification on reputable platforms, and be aware that moving SBD to and from overseas services interacts with foreign-exchange and AML rules. There is no public network of Bitcoin ATMs in the Solomon Islands; global ATM trackers do not list established machines, so online exchanges and P2P trades are the realistic on and off ramps. Use established platforms, confirm a counterparty's track record on P2P, store funds in a wallet you control, and never send money based on unsolicited offers or promises of guaranteed returns. Because there is no local consumer-protection backstop for crypto, due diligence is your main line of defence.

Bitcoin mining is neither specifically prohibited nor specifically licensed. In practice, the main constraints are economic and infrastructural rather than legal. Electricity in the Solomon Islands is relatively expensive and has historically relied heavily on imported diesel generation, which undermines the profitability of energy-hungry proof-of-work mining. Grid reliability and limited high-capacity internet outside the capital, Honiara, add further hurdles.

There is growing interest across the Pacific in pairing mining with renewable energy such as solar and hydro to cut costs and emissions, and that is a plausible future direction as renewable capacity grows. But anyone considering mining today should treat power cost, hardware import logistics, cooling in a tropical climate, and Bitcoin price volatility as the decisive factors. Before investing, check whether any business-registration, import-duty, electricity-tariff or environmental requirements apply to your specific setup, and budget conservatively.

Even as it warns against private crypto, the CBSI has explored a central bank digital currency (CBDC). In November 2023 it launched Bokolo Cash, a proof-of-concept digital form of the Solomon Islands Dollar developed with the Japanese blockchain firm Soramitsu and supported by the Japanese government. It is built on Hyperledger Iroha technology, connected to the Sora network, and accessed through QR codes and a mobile wallet, with each Bokolo pegged one-to-one to the SBD. The pilot has tested retail payments and person-to-person transfers in Honiara, with wholesale interbank transfers and simulated cross-border remittances also in scope.

Bokolo Cash is a state-backed pilot, a digital SBD, not a private cryptocurrency, and is distinct from Bitcoin in both its legal status and its centralised design. As of 2026 it remains a proof of concept rather than a full national rollout. The project signals official interest in digital payments while reinforcing the message that genuine legal tender comes only from the central bank. No dedicated private-crypto legislation has been enacted alongside it; any future law would most likely centre on AML/CFT and consumer protection. Treat any claim of a brand-new "crypto law" with scepticism unless you can confirm it through the CBSI or the government gazette.

The defining risk in the Solomon Islands is the lack of a legal framework. Without licensing, disclosure or consumer-protection rules for crypto, users carry the full weight of platform, custody and fraud risk themselves. The CBSI has warned the public both about cryptocurrencies generally and about specific fake-currency schemes, such as the "Sol York" scam, that have surfaced in the country, underlining how fraudsters exploit gaps in awareness. There is no formal, crypto-specific dispute-resolution channel, so contractual clarity and dealing only with reputable counterparties matter a great deal.

On the practical side, expect friction: limited local on-ramps, dependence on P2P trading, foreign-exchange considerations when moving value across borders, and the inherent volatility of crypto assets. Remittances are a real Pacific use case, and crypto is sometimes promoted as a cheaper cross-border channel; in reality, on and off-ramp costs, AML checks and counterparty risk can erode that advantage, so compare it honestly against established remittance services. Only commit money you can afford to lose, use secure self-custody, enable two-factor authentication, and keep detailed records.

Crypto policy can change, and online summaries (including this one) can fall out of date. Always confirm the current position against primary official sources before acting:

• CBSI position on cryptocurrencies, the central bank's official notice on the legal status of crypto.
• CBSI Financial Intelligence Unit (SIFIU), for the AML/CFT framework and reporting obligations.
• Central Bank of Solomon Islands Act 2012, the statute making the SBD sole legal tender.
• Inland Revenue Division (IRD), the national tax authority, for tax questions.

This article is general information as of 2026 and is not legal, tax or financial advice; readers should verify their own situation with the named official regulator, the Central Bank of Solomon Islands, and a qualified local professional. For more, browse our country regulation hub.

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