Hold on a second. Youâve heard Saudis are buying crypto like itâs going out of style. Youâve seen the headlines: $31 billion in transactions in a year, 4 million people owning Bitcoin, one of the fastest-growing crypto markets in the Middle East. So why does the government keep warning people not to touch it?
The truth isnât black and white. In Saudi Arabia, holding cryptocurrency isnât officially legal - but itâs also not officially illegal. Youâre living in a gray zone where millions are trading, investing, and holding digital assets, while the state watches, warns, and slowly builds its own digital currency behind the scenes.
What the Government Actually Says
In 2018, Saudi Arabiaâs government committee declared virtual currencies illegal. No licenses. No recognition. No protection. That warning came again in 2019 from the Ministry of Finance: "Virtual currencies are not recognized or regulated by any official entity in the Kingdom." Banks were told: donât touch crypto. Financial institutions were banned from trading it. The message was clear - stay away.
But hereâs the twist: that same year, a top religious authority issued a fatwa - a formal Islamic legal opinion - stating that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies donât violate Sharia law. That wasnât just a side comment. In Saudi Arabia, religious rulings carry real weight in shaping policy. That fatwa didnât make crypto legal, but it cracked open the door.
Today, the official stance hasnât changed. Thereâs no law that says "you can own crypto." But thereâs also no law that says "youâll go to jail for owning it." The government doesnât prosecute individuals for holding Bitcoin. Instead, they warn. They scare. They block banks. They threaten legal action against companies that use Saudi branding to promote crypto.
So Why Is Everyone Still Buying It?
Because the market doesnât care about legal ambiguity when the returns are real.
In 2024, Saudi Arabiaâs crypto market hit $23.1 billion. By 2033, itâs projected to hit $45.9 billion. Thatâs not a guess - itâs a forecast from analysts tracking real transaction data. From July 2023 to June 2024, crypto transactions in the Kingdom jumped 153%, crossing $31 billion. Thatâs more than the entire crypto volume of most European countries.
Why? Because 63% of Saudi Arabiaâs population is under 30. Theyâre tech-savvy, globally connected, and tired of traditional banking limits. They use peer-to-peer apps, VPNs, and international exchanges to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, and altcoins. Over 11.4% of Saudis - about 4 million people - now hold crypto. Thatâs one in nine. And itâs growing.
Even more telling: Saudi Arabia is the second-largest crypto market in the Middle East, behind only the UAE. And itâs growing faster.
Whoâs Allowed to Play - and Whoâs Not
Thereâs a double standard in Saudi crypto policy. Regular people? Told not to touch it. Big institutions? Welcome to the future.
Banks and financial firms are banned from crypto trading - unless they get special approval from SAMA, the Saudi Central Bank. And even then, itâs rare. But hereâs whatâs happening behind closed doors: Goldman Sachs and Rothschild are setting up tokenization platforms in Riyadh. Theyâre not trading Bitcoin. Theyâre turning bonds, real estate, and trade finance into digital tokens on blockchain networks.
Thatâs not crypto speculation. Thatâs institutional finance moving online. And the government is encouraging it.
SAMA is also deep into developing its own digital currency - the Riyal Digital. Theyâve been testing it since 2019 with the UAE in a project called Aber. In 2024, they joined the mBridge pilot with China, Thailand, and Hong Kong to test cross-border CBDC payments. This isnât about replacing cash. Itâs about controlling the future of money.
So while youâre buying ETH on Binance, the state is building its own version of crypto - one it can monitor, track, and control.
Taxes: No Capital Gains, But Watch Out
If you make money on crypto in Saudi Arabia, you donât pay capital gains tax. Not a cent. Thatâs a big deal. Most countries tax your profits. Saudi Arabia doesnât - for individuals.
But if youâre a business? Different story. Companies that trade or hold crypto as part of operations may face a 15% capital gains tax. On top of that, corporate income is taxed at 20%, and youâll owe 2.5% zakat - a mandatory Islamic charitable contribution.
And yes, the Anti-Money Laundering Law applies. Even though crypto isnât officially recognized, the law defines "funds" broadly to include any digital asset. That means if youâre moving large amounts of crypto, you could still be flagged for suspicious activity - especially if youâre using unregulated exchanges.
What Happens If You Get Caught?
Most people never get caught. There are no known cases of individuals being prosecuted for simply holding crypto.
But if youâre running a business that promotes crypto services - like a local exchange, a crypto ATM, or a marketing campaign that says "Buy Bitcoin in Saudi Arabia" - youâre asking for trouble. The Ministry of Finance has warned: using national symbols or Saudi branding to promote crypto is illegal and will lead to legal action.
Thereâs no official KYC or AML framework for crypto users. Thatâs not because the government doesnât care - itâs because they donât want to legitimize it. Theyâre waiting. Watching. Letting the market grow - but keeping the leash tight.
The Future: Whatâs Coming in 2025 and Beyond
Everyone expects new crypto laws in Saudi Arabia by 2025. Not because the government changed its mind - but because the market is too big to ignore.
The goal? A regulated framework that allows institutional adoption, protects consumers, and keeps control in state hands. Expect licensing for exchanges, mandatory reporting for large transactions, and maybe even a government-approved crypto wallet.
But donât expect Saudi Arabia to become Switzerland. This isnât about freedom. Itâs about control. The Kingdom wants to lead the digital finance revolution - on its own terms.
Right now, you can hold crypto. You can trade it. You can make money. But youâre doing it in a legal shadow. Thereâs no safety net. No recourse if an exchange gets hacked. No protection if the rules suddenly change.
Should You Hold Crypto in Saudi Arabia?
If youâre an individual with a small portfolio, the risk is low. Millions are doing it. Taxes arenât an issue. The government isnât knocking on doors.
But if youâre thinking of starting a business around crypto? Donât. Not yet. The rules are too unclear. The penalties too severe.
Use reputable international exchanges. Donât use Saudi-based platforms. Keep your holdings in non-custodial wallets. Donât advertise. Donât promote. Donât link your name to crypto services.
And keep an eye on 2025. Thatâs when everything could change - for better or worse.
Bottom Line
Crypto isnât legal in Saudi Arabia. But itâs not banned either. It exists in a space the government doesnât want to acknowledge - yet canât stop. Millions are holding it. Institutions are building on it. The state is building its own version of it.
For now, holding crypto is a personal risk. Not a legal one. But that could shift overnight. Stay informed. Stay cautious. And donât assume the rules will stay the same.
14 Comments
Bro just buy BTC and chill đ the governmentâs gonna regulate it eventually anyway - by then youâll be rich and theyâll be begging you to use their digital riyal đ
Actually, the fatwa from 2019 is the key here - Islamic finance scholars have long debated cryptoâs permissibility, and Saudi Arabiaâs top clerics leaning toward ânot haramâ is a massive deal. Itâs not about legality, itâs about theological acceptance. Thatâs why adoption is exploding despite the warnings. The state canât ban what religion doesnât condemn.
Plus, the 63% under-30 demographic? They donât care about legal gray zones. They care about access, returns, and autonomy. Traditional banking in KSA is slow, restrictive, and frankly outdated. Crypto is the only way they feel financially free.
And yes - the Riyal Digital is the real play. Theyâre not fighting crypto. Theyâre replacing it with something they control. Smart move, really.
Just donât use local exchanges. Stick to non-custodial wallets. Keep your keys. Stay off the radar. And donât post about it on LinkedIn. Trust me.
Oh wow, so holding crypto is ânot illegalâ? Thatâs like saying itâs not illegal to juggle chainsaws in a library - technically true, but youâre still gonna get thrown out.
And letâs not pretend the government âdoesnât prosecute individuals.â They just donât need to. They block banks, freeze accounts, and make it impossible to cash out without raising red flags. Itâs psychological warfare wrapped in bureaucratic ambiguity.
Also, âno capital gains taxâ? Congrats, youâre the only country in the world that lets you profit from speculation without accountability. Thatâs not freedom - thatâs a regulatory vacuum waiting to implode.
Yâall are acting like this is some underground rebellion. Nah. Itâs a gold rush with a side of existential dread.
Iâve got 5 BTC in a Ledger. My cousin in Jeddah bought 12 ETH last year on Binance. We donât talk about it. We donât post about it. We donât even say âcryptoâ out loud in front of our parents.
But guess what? Weâre all gonna be rich when the government finally flips the switch and launches their official wallet. Theyâll call it âRiyalCoinâ and make us migrate. Weâll laugh while we cash out.
Meanwhile, the banks are still stuck in 2007. The youth? Theyâre already in 2030. The state? Theyâre just trying to catch up without losing control. Classic Saudi move.
And yes - if youâre using a Saudi-based platform, youâre already dead. Get your ass to Kraken or Coinbase. Use a VPN. Pay in SAR via peer-to-peer. Stay low. Stay smart.
Also - zakat on crypto? Yeah, some scholars say you owe it. Others say itâs just digital paper. Do your own research. But donât tell me youâre âhalalâ and then brag about your 200% ROI on XRP. Thatâs not faith. Thatâs greed.
Oh my god, another âcrypto in Saudi Arabiaâ think piece. Can we please stop pretending this is a revolutionary story? Itâs not. Itâs the same script every time: government says âno,â people do it anyway, then the government builds a better version to steal it.
And the âno taxesâ thing? Please. Thatâs not a perk - itâs a red flag. No tax means no oversight. No oversight means no protection. No protection means when your exchange gets hacked or your wallet gets frozen, youâre SOL.
Also, â4 million Saudis hold cryptoâ? Thatâs 11.4% of the population. So what? Thatâs less than the percentage of Americans who own a pet iguana. Stop exaggerating.
And the fatwa? Cute. But if religion could stop greed, we wouldnât have banks.
This isnât innovation. Itâs desperation dressed up as disruption.
As someone from India, I find this situation fascinating. In our country, crypto is under heavy regulation, yet people still trade it. But in Saudi Arabia, the religious angle adds a whole new layer.
I think the real story here isnât about legality - itâs about cultural adaptation. The youth are using crypto not just as an investment, but as a form of resistance against outdated financial systems. The government knows this. Thatâs why theyâre building their own digital currency - to channel that energy into something controllable.
Still, I worry. When the state controls the blockchain, itâs no longer decentralized. Itâs just another surveillance tool.
And yes - zakat on crypto holdings? Many scholars say yes. If youâre holding for over a year, you owe 2.5%. Ignoring that isnât smart. Itâs not just about law - itâs about faith.
Theyâre not banning crypto because theyâre scared of it. Theyâre scared of what happens when people realize they donât need the state to be rich.
Thatâs why theyâre building Riyal Digital. Not to help you. To keep you dependent.
And if you think âno capital gains taxâ means itâs safe - youâre dumb. The second you try to cash out a million bucks, theyâll find you. They always do.
Just donât be the guy who posts âI made 10x on Shibaâ on Instagram. Youâre already flagged.
Thank you for this well-researched and balanced overview. The distinction between individual holding and institutional adoption is crucial, and many analyses overlook this nuance.
It is worth noting that the Saudi governmentâs approach reflects a broader global trend: the simultaneous suppression of decentralized finance while actively developing centralized alternatives.
The fact that institutions like Goldman Sachs are setting up tokenization platforms in Riyadh suggests that the Kingdom is positioning itself as a hub for blockchain-enabled institutional finance - not retail speculation.
For the average individual, the risks remain high, but the opportunity is real. Prudence, discretion, and non-custodial storage are non-negotiable.
One final point: the absence of a legal framework does not equate to absence of risk. The legal landscape may evolve rapidly in 2025, and those who act now must be prepared for sudden regulatory shifts.
I love how this post breaks it down so clearly - itâs not about right or wrong, itâs about survival in a system thatâs changing faster than the laws can keep up.
My cousin in Riyadh bought his first Bitcoin in 2021 and just moved to Dubai last year. He said the hardest part wasnât the tech - it was the fear. Fear of being caught. Fear of losing everything. Fear of disappointing his family.
But now? Heâs building a side business helping young Saudis set up wallets. No ads. No branding. Just private DMs and Telegram groups.
Itâs not rebellion. Itâs quiet revolution.
And honestly? Iâm proud of them.
Letâs deconstruct the economic architecture here. The absence of capital gains taxation is a structural incentive for speculative capital inflows - a classic tax haven strategy repackaged for the digital age.
However, the lack of AML/KYC compliance creates systemic vulnerability. The stateâs refusal to regulate retail crypto is not benign neglect - itâs strategic opacity designed to externalize risk while internalizing control via CBDC.
Furthermore, the institutional tokenization initiatives are not complementary to retail crypto - they are its obsolescence. The Riyal Digital isnât a parallel system; itâs a replacement protocol.
What weâre witnessing is not a gray zone - itâs a controlled transition from decentralized finance to state-controlled digital asset sovereignty. The individual holder is a temporary byproduct, not a stakeholder.
Therefore, holding crypto in Saudi Arabia is not an investment - itâs an act of financial transgression with no legal recourse. The market may be growing, but the infrastructure is a house of cards built on regulatory silence.
One must consider the epistemological foundations of this phenomenon. The purported âlegal ambiguityâ is, in fact, a deliberate ontological lacuna engineered by the state to maintain sovereign authority over monetary sovereignty while permitting de facto market participation.
One cannot, in good faith, equate the absence of criminal prosecution with de jure permissibility - such a conflation is a fallacy of equivocation. The stateâs silence is not consent; it is a strategic suspension of judgment, allowing for future retroactive enforcement under the guise of âclarifyingâ the law.
Furthermore, the invocation of religious fatwa as legitimizing force is a dangerous misinterpretation. Sharia compliance does not equate to legal recognition - it merely mitigates moral disapproval, not administrative prohibition.
The notion that âmillions are doing itâ is an appeal to popularity - a logical fallacy par excellence. The fact that a majority engages in an activity does not render it lawful, ethical, or prudent.
Moreover, the projection of market growth to $45.9 billion by 2033 is based on speculative extrapolation from unverified transactional data, likely inflated by wash trading and P2P arbitrage.
Finally, the suggestion that individuals should âstay cautiousâ is an understatement. One ought to avoid the entire ecosystem entirely. To participate is to surrender oneâs financial autonomy to a regime that views you not as a citizen, but as a data point in a grand experiment in digital authoritarianism.
Do not be fooled by the glitter of decentralization. The algorithm is watching. The ledger is controlled. The keys are not yours - they are merely lent.
Everyoneâs acting like Saudi Arabia is some wild west. Nah. Itâs a controlled demolition. The government lets you buy crypto so they can learn how to tax it better later.
And donât tell me about the fatwa - thatâs just a loophole for the rich to feel good about their investments. The average guy? Heâs just getting scammed by shady P2P traders.
Also, 4 million people? Thatâs less than 10% of the population. Most of them are expats or rich kids with dads who own companies.
Real talk: if youâre not using a VPN and youâre buying crypto with your Saudi bank account? Youâre already toast.
The Kingdomâs approach to cryptocurrency is a masterclass in strategic ambiguity - a calculated policy of non-recognition coupled with institutional accommodation. By permitting retail participation without formal sanction, the state effectively externalizes the risks of financial innovation while internalizing the benefits of technological advancement.
The development of the Riyal Digital, in concert with the mBridge initiative, signals a broader ambition: to position Saudi Arabia as a global node in the next-generation monetary infrastructure - one where sovereignty is preserved through technological control.
It is imperative that individuals recognize that their participation in this ecosystem is not an act of empowerment, but rather a form of experimental participation in a state-engineered transition.
For the private citizen, discretion remains the only viable strategy. For the institution, collaboration is the only path forward.
This is not a revolution. It is a redefinition - and those who fail to understand the distinction will be left behind.
So let me get this straight - the government says itâs illegal, but doesnât prosecute, lets institutions build on it, and the youth are using it like itâs TikTok money? Classic Saudi. They want the money without the mess.
Meanwhile, Iâm over here trying to explain to my uncle why I bought Dogecoin and he thinks Iâm funding terrorists.
At least in the US, we have SEC warnings. Here? Youâre on your own. And honestly? Thatâs kinda hot.