Rwanda’s National Bank moved swiftly to remind the public that cryptocurrency transactions involving the Rwandan franc remain illegal, days after crypto exchange Bybit quietly added franc support to its peer-to-peer trading platform.
The matter came to light after Bybit announced on Friday that the Rwandan franc could be used to buy and sell crypto through its P2P service. The central bank responded publicly on X two days later, making its position unambiguous. “Crypto-assets are NOT authorized for payments, FRW conversion, or P2P trading involving FRW under the current framework,” the NBR posted, urging citizens to avoid crypto due to “serious financial risks and no recourse in case of loss.”
In a separate post, the bank reinforced that the franc “remains the only legal tender in Rwanda” and that “NBR-licensed financial institutions are prohibited from converting FRW into crypto-assets or vice versa.” Cointelegraph reached out to Bybit for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
Rwanda’s restrictions on private crypto use date back to 2018, making it one of the longer-standing holdouts against digital asset adoption on the continent. The policy covers payments, trading and conversions involving crypto within the country. According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis data, Rwanda ranked low in crypto adoption during 2024 and 2025, receiving only a fraction of the crypto value seen in higher-adopting African nations like Nigeria and South Africa.
Despite its restrictive stance on private crypto activity, Rwanda has not closed the door entirely on digital asset regulation.
The Rwanda Capital Market Authority introduced draft rules for virtual asset service providers in March 2026, with the proposal aimed at balancing innovation against regulatory control. The central bank is also developing its own digital currency. Last month, the NBR achieved a significant milestone in its Central Bank Digital Currency journey by concluding its five-month Proof of Concept for a potential CBDC.
