Ethiopia Bans 7 Cryptocurrency Applications
Ethiopia has officially banned 7 cryptocurrency applications.
According to the government, the seven applications were being used to facilitate illegal financial transactions. Various cryptocurrency applications have previously been used to transfer Ethiopian Birr from the P2P platform. The government did not disclose the names of the applications which have been banned.
The Ethiopian government has recently been launching special operations against gold smuggling, illegal fuel trade, money laundering, tax evasion, financial frauds etc. “Some individuals have been using cryptocurrency platforms to steal money from citizens and conduct illegal cross-border financial transactions,” the government minister claimed yesterday. Bank accounts of 36 individuals have been frozen, in a related development. Reportedly, the individuals were involved in fraudulently withdrawing money from commercial bank of Ethiopia customers’ accounts.
Moreover, four Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) senior officials have been detained for allegedly signing unauthorized electricity supply contracts with 36 cryptocurrency data mining companies operating in Ethiopia. Last month, National Bank of Ethiopia NBE reiterated ban on all types of digital assets. ” the use, purchase, sale, exchange, transfer, trading, settlement, and facilitation of transactions involving virtual assets are prohibited, and the ban is not limited to cryptocurrencies only, but extends to digital representations of value that can be electronically traded, transferred, exchanged, or used for payment, investment, or similar purposes,” NBE said in a statement in July 2026.
