Addis Ababa — Ethiopia’s central bank has formally prohibited peer-to-peer cryptocurrency transactions denominated in the local currency, tightening oversight of a fast-growing informal market that has operated largely outside the country’s regulated financial system.
In a public notice issued Friday, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) said any Birr-paired P2P trading conducted through digital-asset platforms, exchanges, or similar services is illegal unless explicitly authorized. The directive applies to transactions involving cryptocurrencies as well as other virtual assets settled in Ethiopian birr.
The move marks one of the most explicit policy statements to date on how Africa’s second-most-populous nation intends to manage the intersection of digital assets and domestic monetary controls.
Targeting the On-Ramp Between Birr and Crypto
P2P trading platforms allow users to buy and sell digital assets directly from one another, typically settling payments through bank transfers or mobile money while the platform holds crypto in escrow. By focusing on Birr-denominated arrangements, the central bank is effectively restricting the domestic entry point into global crypto markets.
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