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Quick answer — Georgia, 2026

• Owning, buying, selling and trading crypto is legal in Georgia. Paying with it is not: Article 39-1 of the Organic Law on the National Bank of Georgia states that a virtual asset is not a lawful means of payment and that payment with a virtual asset is prohibited, except in cases the National Bank of Georgia defines as essential for providing virtual asset services.
• Public Ruling N201 of the Minister of Finance, issued 28 June 2019, exempts an individual from personal income tax on income received from the supply of crypto assets and exempts the exchange of crypto for national or foreign fiat currency from VAT, which is the basis for the 0% figure; companies pay 15% on distributed profits and mining can attract VAT.
• Residents buy through NBG-registered exchanges, global platforms, or the many exchange offices and ATMs in Tbilisi.

Georgia (the country in the South Caucasus, not the U.S. state) is one of the most crypto-active places in the world relative to its size. Cheap, abundant hydroelectric power made it a major Bitcoin mining destination, and its capital, Tbilisi, is unusually dense with crypto exchange offices and ATMs. For years this activity happened with little formal oversight. That changed when Georgia introduced a dedicated regime for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) that took effect on 1 July 2023, placing crypto exchanges, custodians and related businesses under the supervision of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG).

This guide explains, in plain terms, where Georgia stands on crypto in 2026: whether Bitcoin is legal, who regulates the sector, the laws and rules that apply, how exchanges are registered, how crypto is generally taxed, and the practical realities around buying, mining and consumer risk. The framework is largely built but not finished: amendments to the Organic Law on the National Bank of Georgia adopted on 17 December 2025 expanded the NBG's powers, and the NBG must issue the subordinate normative acts setting minimum supervisory capital, operational standards and consumer protection rules for virtual asset service providers by 1 September 2026. Treat this as a starting point and confirm specifics with the National Bank of Georgia and the Georgian Revenue Service. This article is general information as of 2026 and is not legal, tax or financial advice; verify your own position with the named official regulator and a qualified local professional before acting. See also our broader guide to crypto regulation.

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Yes. Owning, buying, selling and transferring cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin is legal in Georgia. There is no ban on individuals holding or trading digital assets, and the country is widely regarded as crypto-friendly in practice.

An important distinction: crypto is not legal tender in Georgia. The national currency is the Georgian lari (GEL), and no business is obliged to accept Bitcoin or any other digital asset as payment. Crypto is treated as a virtual asset rather than as state-issued money. In day-to-day life this means you can legally buy, hold and spend crypto where a counterparty agrees to accept it, but you cannot demand that a debt be settled in Bitcoin.

Since 1 July 2023, running a crypto business for others, such as operating an exchange or holding customer funds, has been brought under a formal registration regime supervised by the National Bank of Georgia, which is covered in the sections below.

The primary regulator is the National Bank of Georgia (NBG), the country's central bank. The NBG is the registration authority and supervisor for Virtual Asset Service Providers and is responsible for the related anti-money-laundering oversight of the sector.

The NBG's powers over crypto were significantly expanded by amendments to the Organic Law of Georgia on the National Bank of Georgia. A bill was submitted to Parliament in September 2025 and the amendments were adopted on 17 December 2025. They give the NBG full supervisory authority over VASPs, spanning prudential supervision, consumer-rights protection, cybersecurity and operational-risk management. The law requires the NBG to issue the detailed subordinate rules implementing these powers, including operational standards and capital requirements, by 1 September 2026.

For taxation, the relevant authority is the Georgian Revenue Service (rs.ge), part of the Ministry of Finance, which administers income tax, corporate tax and VAT. You can confirm the current registry of authorised providers and read the rules directly on the NBG website: National Bank of Georgia - Virtual Asset Service Providers.

Georgia is not a member of the European Union, so the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) does not apply directly. Georgia has instead built its own domestic framework, broadly aligned with the international standards of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The main building blocks are:

• The VASP registration regime, in force since 1 July 2023, which defines virtual asset services and requires the businesses that provide them to register with the NBG.
• The Organic Law on the National Bank of Georgia, amended on 17 December 2025 to give the NBG full supervisory authority over VASPs (prudential, consumer protection, cybersecurity and operational risk).
• Georgia's anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing legislation, which extends customer due diligence and reporting duties to VASPs.
• NBG subordinate acts, including a regulation on monetary fines against VASPs and their administrators, and the March 2026 rules on stablecoin offerings (covered below).

Because several detailed rules are due to be finalised by 1 September 2026, the precise compliance picture is still evolving. For the authoritative position, always check the latest acts published by the NBG rather than relying on summaries.

Businesses that provide crypto services to the public must register with the NBG as a Virtual Asset Service Provider. The NBG's official list of regulated activities covers seven services:

• Exchange between convertible virtual assets and fiat currencies, or between different forms of virtual asset
• Transfer of convertible virtual assets
• Safekeeping and administration of convertible virtual assets (custody)
• Portfolio management of convertible virtual assets
• Administration of a virtual asset trading platform
• Lending of convertible virtual assets
• Initial Coin Offering (ICO) of convertible virtual assets

To register, a provider generally needs a Georgian legal entity, a local presence, fit-and-proper management and an AML/KYC compliance program acceptable to the NBG. Historically Georgia did not impose minimum capital requirements on VASPs, which made it cheaper to set up than many MiCA jurisdictions. That is changing: the December 2025 amendments give the NBG explicit power to set minimum supervisory capital and a calculation methodology, with the detailed thresholds expected in the subordinate acts due by 1 September 2026.

From 1 January 2026, every registered VASP must visibly display, or make easily accessible, the official NBG act confirming its registration across all service channels, including offices, branches, self-service kiosks, websites and mobile apps. This is intended to help consumers verify that a provider is genuinely authorised. Anyone setting up a crypto business should obtain a tailored legal opinion rather than assume their model is in or out of scope.

Georgia has a reputation as a low-tax jurisdiction for crypto, but treatment depends on who you are and whether the activity is personal or a business. The summary below describes the broad principles commonly applied; it is not a substitute for advice from the Georgian Revenue Service or a local tax adviser, and you should verify your own position before relying on any of it.

Individuals. Income that a resident individual earns from supplying or exchanging crypto assets has generally been treated as not arising from a Georgian source, and therefore not subject to personal income tax. This is why Georgia is often described as offering a 0% rate on personal crypto gains. It is a general characterisation, not a guarantee for every situation: if trading is frequent, organised and looks like a business, the analysis can change, and tax residency matters.

Businesses. Companies operating in crypto are subject to Georgia's corporate tax system, which broadly follows a distributed-profit (Estonian-style) model. Profits are taxed at 15% when they are distributed rather than as they accrue, and crypto gains are folded into ordinary corporate profit rather than taxed under a separate capital-gains regime.

VAT. Because crypto assets are treated similarly to monetary funds, exchanging crypto for fiat or for other crypto is generally outside the scope of VAT. Mining is treated differently: it is regarded as the supply of computational power, that is, a service rather than a financial transaction, and can therefore fall within VAT. Georgia applies a standard VAT rate of 18%.

Rates, thresholds and definitions can change and turn on fine details, so confirm the current figures and your residency or business status directly with the Revenue Service or a qualified Georgian accountant. See our general explainer on crypto taxes for context.

Anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing (AML/CFT) compliance is central to Georgia's crypto framework, reflecting FATF standards. Registered VASPs are obliged entities and must:

• Perform customer due diligence (KYC), verifying customer identity before providing services and applying enhanced checks for higher-risk customers or larger transactions.
• Monitor transactions and screen against sanctions lists.
• Identify and report suspicious activity to the relevant authorities.
• Keep records and report periodically to the NBG.
• Maintain an internal compliance function and policies acceptable to the regulator.

In practice this means that when you use a licensed Georgian VASP you should expect to provide identification and, for larger amounts, proof of address or source of funds. These checks are a regulatory requirement, not optional. The December 2025 amendments add consumer-protection and operational-risk supervision on top of the existing AML duties, so expect compliance expectations to tighten further as the NBG finalises its rules through 2026.

Buying crypto in Georgia is straightforward for residents and visitors. Common routes include:

• NBG-registered local exchanges and VASPs that support the Georgian lari and offer card or bank-transfer purchases.
• Major global exchanges, which Georgians commonly use; some international platforms have also established a regional presence.
• Physical exchange offices and crypto ATMs, which are notably common in central Tbilisi. Many ATMs are buy-only, and fees and spreads tend to be higher than on exchanges.
• Peer-to-peer arrangements, which carry the usual counterparty and fraud risks.

When you use a licensed VASP, expect standard KYC. Favour platforms that display proof of NBG registration (now required across their service channels from January 2026) or are well-established internationally, watch trading and withdrawal fees, and be cautious with informal or unlicensed services that promise to skip verification, as these are higher-risk and may not be operating lawfully. Crypto is not legal tender, and merchant acceptance is not simply optional. The National Bank of Georgia states in its public FAQ that a virtual asset is not legal tender and that it is therefore prohibited to make payments with a virtual asset, except for the exceptional cases defined by legal act of the National Bank which are essential for providing virtual asset services.

Mining is the activity that first put Georgia on the global crypto map. Thanks to abundant hydroelectric generation, which supplies most of the country's domestic power, and historically low electricity prices, Georgia attracted large industrial mining facilities as well as a long tail of small home setups. Industrial data centres, mainly mining, consumed hundreds of millions of kilowatt-hours in 2025, with usage rising sharply over the year.

Mining itself is legal, but in 2026 it is best understood as a business activity rather than a casual hobby once it reaches any meaningful scale. Key considerations include:

• Business registration and tax. Operating a mining venture generally means registering as a company or individual entrepreneur. As noted above, mining is commonly treated as a taxable service (the supply of computing power) and can fall within VAT, unlike pure crypto exchange.
• Energy and enforcement. Cheap power is the core economic advantage, but authorities have begun cracking down on illegal and unmetered mining. In the Mestia region, where unlawful mining drove 2025 electricity consumption far above comparable municipalities and caused grid problems, officials moved in 2026 to install meters and identify hidden operations.
• Practical risks. Volatile coin prices, rising difficulty, hardware and cooling costs, and policy changes toward heavy electricity consumers all weigh on returns.

Mining-only businesses may sit outside the VASP registration perimeter, but the tax, registration and electricity-supply obligations are real. Confirm current rules with local authorities and advisers before committing capital.

The pace of regulatory change picked up noticeably in this period:

• Expanded NBG powers (December 2025). Amendments to the Organic Law on the National Bank of Georgia, adopted on 17 December 2025, gave the NBG full supervisory authority over VASPs, including prudential supervision, consumer protection, cybersecurity and operational risk, and the power to set minimum capital requirements.
• Mandatory registration display (1 January 2026). A regulation amendment now requires every registered VASP to visibly display the official NBG registration act across all service channels, to help consumers spot unregistered providers.
• Stablecoin rules (March 2026). On 6 March 2026 the Governor of the NBG signed Order No. 52/04 approving rules for the initial coin offering of a stablecoin by a VASP. A stablecoin issuer must register as a VASP, hold minimum capital of GEL 500,000 kept separate from reserves, back circulating stablecoins 100% with reserve assets and undergo regular independent audits. Tether's own announcement of the lari stablecoin states that Georgia's framework has been designed to achieve substantive compatibility with emerging US stablecoin regulation, including the GENIUS Act.
• Official lari stablecoin (May 2026). On 25 May 2026 Tether and the Government of Georgia announced GEL-T (GELT), described as the official stablecoin of Georgia, pegged 1:1 to the Georgian lari and built on Tether's stablecoin infrastructure under the new NBG stablecoin framework. It is one of the first cases of a government co-issuing a national-currency stablecoin with a private issuer rather than running a central bank digital currency in-house.
• Detailed rules due by 1 September 2026. The NBG is required to issue the remaining subordinate acts (operational standards and capital methodology) by this date, after which VASPs should have full clarity on the precise obligations.

Because the framework is actively changing, treat any specific figure or date here as accurate as of 2026 and confirm the latest position with the NBG.

Georgia combines genuine crypto adoption with a framework that has matured considerably since 2023, and the December 2025 amendments explicitly add consumer-rights protection to the NBG's mandate. Even so, the main risks are familiar ones:

• Market volatility. Crypto prices can fall sharply, and you can lose a substantial part or all of your money.
• Scams and fake platforms. Fraudulent exchanges, impersonation and social-engineering attacks are common across the industry. Check that any provider displays valid NBG registration before sending funds.
• Custody risk. Leaving assets on an exchange, or with an unregistered service, exposes you to platform failure or loss. The NBG warned in 2024 against using unregistered virtual asset services, including those operating in Free Industrial Zones.
• Changing rules. Tax and licensing treatment can shift; a favourable position today is not guaranteed forever.

Sensible practice: use NBG-registered or otherwise reputable providers, verify a firm's registration on the NBG website, secure your own keys where possible, enable two-factor authentication, keep good records for tax, and never share private keys, seed phrases or one-time codes with anyone.

This guide is general information as of 2026 and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Crypto law and tax rules in Georgia are evolving, so always confirm the current position with the official regulator before acting. The primary authoritative sources are:

• National Bank of Georgia - Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), the official page listing regulated activities and the registration rules.
• NBG news - amendment requiring VASPs to display registration proof, setting out the 1 January 2026 transparency obligation.
• Georgian Revenue Service (rs.ge), the official tax authority for income tax, corporate tax and VAT questions.

To verify a provider, check whether it appears in the NBG's register of authorised VASPs and whether it displays the official NBG registration act on its website or premises. For your own tax or business situation, consult the Revenue Service or a qualified Georgian lawyer or accountant. You can also browse our wider country regulation hub for comparisons.

Facts reviewed: 13 August 2026. Page updated: 13 August 2026.

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