On 24 July 2025, Algeria joined the list of countries banning all cryptocurrency-related activity.
The law is clear: buying, selling, mining, using or even holding crypto in a wallet is now illegal.
Penalties range from heavy fines to prison sentences, with assets also subject to seizure.
The government says it wants to curb money laundering and terrorist financing.
What does history tell us?
In countries that ban crypto, its use doesn't stop. It moves outside the legal system.
Crypto was originally designed to be decentralised.
In practice, though, most users go through centralised services because they're easier to access.
And those are precisely the services governments can block:
- Exchanges close local accounts.
- Domestic services shut down.
- Banks block transfers identified as crypto-related.
Getting around those barriers requires advanced technical expertise.
People who remain exposed locally must either comply with the law or operate outside the system, with all the risks that entails.
What could happen in Algeria
Examples from other countries give us an idea:
- India: during periods of regulatory uncertainty, some people chose to liquidate their positions before new rules took effect.
- China: despite restrictions, many continued using Binance or OKX through VPNs and foreign accounts.
- Nigeria: blocking banking access to crypto platforms led to a sharp rise in over-the-counter trading through Telegram or WhatsApp.
- Iran: keeping crypto in private wallets became widespread as a way to avoid seizures.
These examples suggest crypto use probably won't disappear in Algeria.
Ban first, regulate later
In some countries, such as Russia or India, banning crypto was only a step towards allowing it back under regulation.
There's nothing to stop Algeria following the same path if reality eventually forces the legal framework to adapt.