As at end of 2021, a total of 23 African countries have placed ban on the use and trade of Cryptocurrencies within their economies. 

Report by Library for Congress (LoC) published the list of 51 countries that have implemented ban on cryptocurrencies within their jurisdictions, out of which 23 countries are African countries.

LoC report revealed that four African countries placed absolute ban on cryptocurrency, while 19 countries placed implicit restrictions on the digital assets.

The report also revealed that total number of jurisdictions with an absolute ban or total restrictions on cryptocurrency has more than doubled in the last 3 years. The four African jurisdictions with an absolute ban include Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia.

According to the  report, as of November 2021, 103 jurisdictions across the world have in one way or the other attempted to regulate cryptocurrencies in terms of the issuance of tax laws, anti-money laundering and combatting the funding of terrorism (AML/CFT) laws, or both. This represents a 212.12% increase from 2018, where only 33 jurisdictions were found to have regulated cryptocurrencies. These jurisdictions include the European Union Member States, with the exception of Bulgaria.  

Library of Congress is the research library for the United States Senate, which acts as the national library for the country. In the context of the LOC report, an absolute ban means any “transactions with or holding cryptocurrency is a criminal act”, whereas an implicit ban prohibits cryptocurrency exchanges, banks, and other financial institutions from “dealing in cryptocurrencies or offering services to individuals/businesses dealing in cryptocurrencies.” 

Despite the clampdown on crypto by some government authorities Africa and indeed in he world, the cryptocurrency market exploded in terms of market size and performance in 2021. 

The government of El-Salvador in 2021 legalised Bitcoin as legal tender in the country. 

It is expected that in 2022, more countries will move to ban cryptocurrencies either absolute or implicit, owing to the fact that many countries have started introducing their own central bank digital currencies, CBDCs. Central Bank of Nigeria in October launched its Central bank Digital Currency known as eNaira. Since then, other central banks in Africa are drawing inspiration from Nigeria`s eNaira to launch their own central bank digital currencies.

Full List of African Countries that Have Implemented Ban on Cryptocurrency

1.  Algeria  — Absolute ban
2. Benin —  Implicit ban
3. Burkina Faso — Implicit ban 
4. Burundi — Implicit ban
5. Cameroom — Implicit ban
6. Central African Republic — Implicit ban
7. Chad — Implicit ban
8. Cote d`Ivoire — Implicit ban
9. Democratic Republic of Congo — Implicit ban
10. Egypt  — Absolute ban
11. Gabon — Implicit ban
12. Lesotho — Implicit ban
13. Libya — Implicit ban
14. Mali —  Implicit ban
15. Morocco  — Absolute ban
16. Namibia — Implicit ban
17. Niger — Implicit ban
18. Nigeria — Implicit ban
19. Senegal — Implicit ban
20. Tanzania — Implicit ban
21. Togo — Implicit ban
22. Tunisia  — Absolute ban
23. Zimbabwe — Implicit ban