Between July 2025 and June 2026, the value of crypto assets received in Morocco reached roughly $14.6 billion, according to Chainalysis’ 2026 Geography of Cryptocurrency report. That volume puts the country second in North Africa behind Egypt ($18.8 billion), ahead of Algeria ($8.1 billion) and Tunisia ($3 billion).
The topic matters because it reveals a lasting gap between the official regulatory framework and real-world activity. Since November 2017, Moroccan authorities have warned against using cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, citing volatility, the lack of consumer protection, fraud risks and foreign exchange control violations. In April 2022, Bank Al-Maghrib, the AMMC (Moroccan Capital Market Authority) and the Foreign Exchange Office reaffirmed that virtual currency transactions remained unregulated and prohibited. Yet the flows measured by Chainalysis persist and, according to several press reports based on the report’s data, reportedly grew by about 15% compared with the previous period (around $12.7 billion).
The $14.6 billion figure
Chainalysis counts the value of assets that moved during the period under review. The total includes flows to service platforms and direct transfers between personal wallets, including cross-border transfers. Each transaction is counted only once, at its destination. Activity linked to service platforms is attributed to the user’s country based on web traffic data, not the country where the platform is headquartered. As a result, the activity attributed to Morocco includes flows associated with the use of foreign platforms.
These $14.6 billion therefore represent neither Moroccans’ crypto savings nor the amounts they spent acquiring crypto. Nor can they be used to calculate the share of the population that uses crypto, or to precisely break activity down between investment, trading, transfers or payment for goods and services. They measure a volume of movement, not holdings.
Key figures for the MENA region according to Chainalysis
- Morocco: about $14.6 billion
- Egypt: $18.8 billion
- Algeria: $8.1 billion
- Tunisia: $3 billion
- Turkey: $144.5 billion (the region’s largest market)
- United Arab Emirates: $104.8 billion (+32%)
- Saudi Arabia: $50.5 billion
- MENA total: $443.3 billion (−1.4% from $449.6 billion in the previous period)
Turkey and the United Arab Emirates alone account for about 56% of regional activity. Excluding the UAE, the decline across the other regional markets would have reached 8.6%. Even so, 16 of the 24 measurable markets recorded growth. Globally, despite crypto’s market capitalization being cut in half, economic activity observed on blockchain networks fell by only 1.6%, from about $9.5 trillion to $9.4 trillion.
Activity continues within a still-restrictive framework
Morocco is not an isolated case in the region. On-chain activity often holds up better than prices. In Morocco, it coexists with a formal ban on use as a means of payment and with ongoing regulatory work. Draft Law No. 42.25 on crypto-assets was published for public consultation in late October 2025. It provides a framework for trading platforms, digital asset service providers and certain tokens, including stablecoins, while excluding central bank digital currencies, NFTs and mining. Its stated goals are consumer protection, preventing money laundering and market manipulation, supporting innovation and preserving financial stability.
The text has not yet come into force. It is among the priorities of the 2027 Finance Bill. A national working group coordinated by Bank Al-Maghrib has been working on the subject since 2022, with technical assistance from the World Bank and reference to the European MiCA standards. In December 2025, the AMMC organized a four-day training seminar in Rabat in partnership with Chainalysis, attended by Bank Al-Maghrib, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and other institutions, among others. The aim was to prepare the supervisory tools for a potentially regulated market.
The training collaboration with Chainalysis does not mean that Moroccan institutions have validated or independently verified the $14.6 billion figure, which remains an estimate by the analytics firm.
Economic and strategic stakes
Crypto flows of $14.6 billion over twelve months are of a comparable order of magnitude to diaspora remittances. These exceeded $10.5 billion over the first nine months of 2026, according to the Foreign Exchange Office, up 11.3% year on year. They have historically represented around 7% of GDP and are an important source of foreign currency that does not add to debt.
Part of the crypto activity may serve as an alternative or complementary channel for cross-border transfers, online purchases or a form of saving outside the traditional banking system. In a country where cash use remains high (card withdrawals reached 460 billion dirhams in 2025, according to Bank Al-Maghrib), crypto-assets offer some users liquidity and speed that formal channels do not always provide at the same cost. This raises questions about foreign exchange control, anti-money laundering and user protection, precisely the grounds that have justified the authorities’ caution since 2017.
On the other hand, a regulated framework could channel part of this activity toward licensed providers, strengthen supervision and possibly contribute to financial inclusion or to the diversification of financing instruments. Bank Al-Maghrib is also studying the issuance of a digital dirham. Moving from a de facto prohibition to a conditional oversight regime is both a political and a technical choice: it means defining responsibilities between the AMMC (for providers and certain tokens) and the central bank (for asset-backed stablecoins), setting capital and compliance requirements, and managing systemic risks without stifling innovation.
Regional comparisons show diverging trajectories. The United Arab Emirates recorded 32% growth thanks to a licensing environment that attracts institutional players and strong growth in B2B and P2P flows. Turkey remains the largest market by volume but saw a slight contraction amid a transition toward a licensing regime. Egypt exceeds Morocco in absolute volume. These gaps illustrate that flow volume depends not only on population size or GDP, but also on access to platforms, demand for transfers and the perceived regulatory framework.
Looking ahead
Whether Draft Law 42.25 is adopted in 2027 or postponed will determine whether part of these flows can be brought into a supervised system or remains largely off the formal radar. The authorities have already invested in training and risk analysis. Users and intermediaries, for their part, have already shown a capacity to adapt. The open question is how far a suitable regulatory framework can turn a measured volume into activity that is more visible, safer and potentially more useful to the formal economy, without creating new frictions that would push flows to other jurisdictions.
FAQ
What exactly does the $14.6 billion figure represent?
It is the value of crypto assets received in Morocco (flows to platforms and direct transfers) between July 2025 and June 2026, according to Chainalysis. It is neither the savings held nor the amount spent to buy those assets.
Is cryptocurrency legal in Morocco?
Its use as a means of payment has been formally discouraged and treated as unregulated since 2017-2022. A draft law (42.25) to regulate providers and certain tokens is being prepared and is among the 2027 priorities, but it is not yet in force.
How does Morocco compare with its North African neighbors?
It ranks behind Egypt ($18.8 billion) and ahead of Algeria ($8.1 billion) and Tunisia ($3 billion), according to the same Chainalysis data.
Are these flows linked to diaspora remittances?
They are of a comparable order of magnitude to official remittances (more than $10.5 billion over nine months in 2026), but the data does not allow the exact share that might correspond to alternative transfers to be quantified.
