Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency Regulation in Jordan

Owning, buying, selling and trading crypto-assets is now lawful in Jordan, but within a regulated framework rather than as an unrestricted free-for-all. This is a notable shift. For around a decade the Central Bank of Jordan took a restrictive line: it issued public warnings (its first dates back to 2014), declared that virtual currencies are not legal tender, and barred banks and other financial institutions from facilitating crypto transactions. Individuals were not criminalised for holding crypto, but the regulated banking sector was walled off from it.

That position was replaced in 2025 by a purpose-built legal regime for virtual assets. Under the new law, crypto services offered to the public, such as operating an exchange, brokerage, custody and services around token offerings, must be licensed and supervised. The activity is regulated, not banned.

One important distinction remains: crypto is not legal tender. The Jordanian dinar is the only official money, no business is obliged to accept Bitcoin, and the use of virtual assets for payment purposes is treated as a separate, tightly controlled matter reserved to the Central Bank rather than being automatically permitted. In short, you can legally invest in and trade crypto through licensed channels, but you should not assume it works as a general means of payment.

Two authorities share responsibility, with distinct roles:

• Jordan Securities Commission (JSC) is the primary licensing and supervisory authority for virtual asset service providers. Operating a trading platform (exchange), brokerage, custody, and services connected to virtual-asset offerings fall under the JSC's regime. The JSC reviews applications, grants licences, supervises licensees and can act against unlicensed activity. Its official website is jsc.gov.jo.
• Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) retains authority over monetary and payment matters. The use of virtual assets for payment purposes is reserved to the CBJ, so service providers cannot facilitate crypto payments unless the CBJ authorises it. The CBJ also continues to supervise banks and the wider financial system, and its earlier consumer warnings about volatility and fraud remain relevant. Its official website is cbj.gov.jo.

Implementation has been coordinated across government, including the JSC, the CBJ and the national cybersecurity body, reflecting that crypto touches markets, payments and security at once. When in doubt, the JSC and the CBJ are the bodies whose published rules govern, not third-party commentary.

The cornerstone is the Law Regulating Dealings in Virtual Assets, Law No. 14 of 2025. According to official and legal-industry reporting it was published in the Official Gazette on 16 June 2025 and entered into force after a transitional period, becoming effective on 14 September 2025. It establishes a comprehensive regime under which core virtual-asset activities require authorisation from the JSC, and it empowers the authorities to act against entities operating without a licence.

Subsidiary regulation fills in the detail. A dedicated VASP licensing regulation was issued in 2025 (reported as the Regulation of Licensing Virtual Assets Services Providers, with accompanying capital adequacy instructions), setting out activity categories, minimum capital, fees and ongoing obligations. A recurring theme throughout is anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing (AML/CFT) compliance, including customer identity verification and alignment with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards such as the travel rule for transfers.

Because the regime is new and is implemented through instructions that can be revised, the authoritative reference is always the current law and the JSC's and CBJ's official publications. You can review the JSC's announcement of the licensing regulation at jsc.gov.jo.

No entity may carry on virtual-asset activities for the public without a licence from the JSC. The licensing regulation issued in 2025 sets out distinct activity categories, each with its own minimum paid-up capital. As reported from the regulation, these include:

• Platform operator or manager (exchange) with minimum capital of JOD 1,500,000.
• Custodian with minimum capital of JOD 2,000,000.
• Trading broker with minimum capital of JOD 500,000.
• Provider of services for virtual-asset offerings with minimum capital of JOD 500,000.

Licences are granted to companies (legal persons), not to individual entrepreneurs. Applicants typically seek preliminary approval first, supported by documentation on corporate form, governance, technology, risk management and AML policies, and then submit the full licence application within a defined window after preliminary approval. Licensees face ongoing obligations on capital, conduct, custody, cybersecurity, reporting and consumer protection, and the JSC can inspect and enforce. Before depositing funds with any provider that claims to be authorised in Jordan, verify its status against JSC records via the licensing pages at jsc.gov.jo. Figures and categories above reflect reporting on the 2025 regulation and may be amended, so confirm the current text.

Tax is where the most caution is warranted. Because Jordan's virtual-asset framework is recent, the treatment of crypto under the general tax system is still settling, and there is no widely confirmed crypto-specific rate or threshold that can be quoted reliably, so this page deliberately avoids stating figures.

In general terms, Jordan operates an income tax system administered by the Income and Sales Tax Department, alongside a general sales tax on goods and services. Where crypto activity produces income or business profits, general income-tax rules may apply, and the outcome can differ between an individual investor and a business trading professionally, with frequent or professional trading more likely to be treated as taxable income. How sales tax interacts with crypto transactions or platform fees can be technical and fact-specific.

Because the rules are evolving and depend on your residency, your status and the nature of your activity, confirm your position with the Income and Sales Tax Department and a qualified Jordanian tax adviser before relying on any treatment. Nothing here is tax advice, and you should not assume crypto gains are tax-free. Our general crypto tax guide explains the concepts, not Jordan-specific rates.

Anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing compliance sits at the heart of Jordan's new regime. Licensed VASPs are required to implement robust AML/CFT controls aligned with FATF standards. In practice this means:

• Customer due diligence and KYC. Providers must verify customer identity, typically using a national ID or passport and proof of address, before allowing trading or withdrawals.
• The travel rule. For virtual-asset transfers, providers are expected to collect and share required originator and beneficiary information and make it available to authorities, in line with FATF's travel rule.
• Ongoing monitoring and reporting. Source-of-funds checks for larger activity, transaction monitoring, record-keeping and suspicious-activity reporting are standard obligations, and licensees must maintain governance and cybersecurity controls.

For users, the practical effect is that genuine licensed platforms will ask for identity documents and may query large or unusual flows. Anonymous, no-questions-asked conversion is not consistent with the regulated model, and platforms that promise it are a warning sign.

With the framework in place, the intended route for residents is to use VASPs licensed under JSC supervision. Licensed venues must meet conduct, custody and AML standards, which means mandatory identity verification, source-of-funds checks for larger activity, and clearer consumer protections than unregulated platforms offer. Practical points:

• Expect KYC. You will need to verify your identity before trading or withdrawing, and enable strong account security such as two-factor authentication.
• Transition period. As licensing is rolled out, the set of fully authorised local providers may still be developing. Many Jordanians have historically used international platforms; an offshore venue is not supervised by Jordanian regulators and may carry higher counterparty and recovery risk.
• Verify authorisation. Where a provider claims to be licensed in Jordan, check its status against JSC records before depositing funds.
• Payment use is restricted. Using crypto to pay for goods and services is a separate matter reserved to the Central Bank, so do not assume crypto works as everyday money. The dinar remains legal tender.
• Banking interface. Funding and cashing out ultimately touch the regulated banking system; banks apply AML controls, and large or unusual flows can attract questions.

Keep clear records of purchases, sales and transfers. Being able to explain the source of funds matters increasingly as the framework beds in.

Jordan does not have a high-profile, dedicated crypto-mining licensing regime in the way it now licenses exchanges and custodians, and there is no widely publicised blanket criminal prohibition on mining either. In practice, viability is shaped less by a single mining law and more by general factors, of which energy is decisive.

Jordan imports most of its energy and electricity costs are significant, which directly affects mining economics. At the same time, the country has invested heavily in renewables, particularly solar and wind. Whether mining is commercially attractive depends on power tariffs, equipment import rules and the general business, tax and AML rules that apply to any enterprise.

Anyone mining at scale should treat it as a regulated business activity and confirm the current position on electricity supply and tariffs, equipment customs, business licensing and energy-sector requirements directly with the relevant Jordanian authorities before investing. Because mining sits in a less explicitly codified area than licensed crypto services, verifying the rules first-hand is especially important.

The decisive change is recent. In early 2025 the government approved a plan to build a full regulatory framework for virtual and digital assets, led by the JSC and coordinated with the CBJ and the national cybersecurity body. Law No. 14 of 2025 followed, published in the Official Gazette on 16 June 2025 and taking effect on 14 September 2025, replacing the previous effective banking-sector ban with a licensing regime.

Through 2025 the JSC issued the subsidiary VASP licensing regulation and capital adequacy instructions that operationalise the law, defining activity categories, capital thresholds and the application process. The official Jordan News Agency (Petra) and the JSC reported these steps as they were taken; you can follow updates at petra.gov.jo and jsc.gov.jo.

The reasonable expectation for 2026 is continued roll-out and refinement: licensed, supervised activity within the new framework, the gradual emergence of authorised local providers, ongoing clarification of tax treatment, and continued emphasis on AML/CFT, consumer protection and market integrity. None of this is a price forecast, and because the regime is young and fast-moving, the official sources are the only reliable guide to the current position.

Regulation reduces some risks but does not remove them. The main risks for Jordanian users fall into a few buckets:

• Market risk. Crypto-asset prices are highly volatile and can fall sharply; some tokens fail entirely. The CBJ's longstanding warnings about volatility and potential total loss still apply.
• Platform and custody risk. Exchanges and custodians can be hacked, fail or freeze withdrawals, and losing your private keys means losing your funds. For larger or longer-term holdings, consider self-custody with a hardware wallet and an offline backup of your recovery phrase.
• Fraud and scams. Guaranteed-return schemes, fake exchanges and impersonation of licensed firms remain common. Verify any Jordan licence claim against JSC records.
• Regulatory and tax uncertainty. The framework is new; licensed-provider availability, detailed instructions and tax treatment are still developing.

Sensible principles apply: understand what you are buying, prefer regulated platforms as they become available, never invest more than you can afford to lose, and keep documentation. This page is general information, not a recommendation, and makes no price predictions. For background, see our general guide to crypto regulation.

Because Jordan's framework is recent and evolving, always confirm the current position against primary, official sources rather than secondary commentary:

• Jordan Securities Commission (JSC), the primary VASP regulator, for the licensing regulation, capital adequacy instructions, licensee status and announcements: jsc.gov.jo. The JSC's announcement of the VASP licensing regulation is at jsc.gov.jo/News/en/12582.
• Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ), for payment-use rules, banking supervision and consumer warnings: cbj.gov.jo.
• Jordan News Agency (Petra), the official government news service, for announcements on the law and regulations: petra.gov.jo.
• Income and Sales Tax Department, for tax questions, alongside a qualified Jordanian tax adviser.

For our broader coverage, see the regulation hub. To verify a provider, do not rely on the provider's own marketing: check the JSC's licensing records directly, and treat any firm that refuses identity verification or promises guaranteed returns as a red flag.

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