Crypto Overview in Oman

Regulatory data is for informational purposes only and may not reflect the most current legal developments. Always consult qualified professionals before making decisions.

Legal Classification and Regulatory Framework

Cryptocurrency Status

The Sultanate of Oman treats virtual assets as a regulated category distinct from currency. The Omani rial is the sole legal tender and the only instrument issued and protected under Omani banking law. The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) published a cautionary notice in 2020 reminding the public that cryptocurrencies are not legal tender and carry no protection under the country’s banking statutes; that position remains in force for monetary purposes. In parallel, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has built a sector-specific framework for virtual asset service providers, beginning with Decision No. E/35/2023 in June 2023 and continuing work toward a comprehensive Virtual Assets Regulatory Framework with international advisers. The result is a regime that permits regulated activity through registered entities while preserving the rial’s monopoly as legal tender.

The operative registration regime defines permitted virtual asset activities as exchange between fiat currency and virtual assets, exchange between virtual assets, transfer of virtual assets, and safekeeping and administration. Anonymity-enhancing virtual assets that conceal the identity of the originator or the nature of a transaction are prohibited. Payments and stored-value services remain within the CBO’s jurisdiction rather than the FSA’s.

Regulatory Oversight

The Financial Services Authority (Arabic: هيئة الخدمات المالية) is the lead regulator for virtual assets. It was established by Royal Decree 20/2024 on 25 March 2024, replacing the former Capital Market Authority and absorbing all of its assets, obligations, and mandates. The FSA also holds supervisory responsibility for insurance, commodities, and accounting and auditing oversight. The Central Bank of Oman supervises banking, payments, and monetary policy under a new banking law that took effect in January 2025. The National Centre for Financial Information (NCFI) serves as the country’s financial intelligence unit under the 2016 Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism Law. The Oman Tax Authority administers corporate income tax, value added tax, and the new personal income tax.

Tax Treatment

Oman has historically operated without a personal income tax, making it attractive for individual investors. Royal Decree 56/2025, published in the Official Gazette on 30 June 2025, introduces a 5% personal income tax on net annual income exceeding OMR 42,000 (approximately USD 109,000), effective 1 January 2028. It is the first personal income tax in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Executive regulations are due within one year of publication and will govern implementation detail, including how virtual asset income is classified. The corporate income tax rate is 15% and applies to virtual asset service providers and any commercial crypto-related activity. Value added tax is levied at 5% on taxable supplies. Crypto-specific capital gains guidance has not yet been published; operators and investors should obtain professional advice while implementing rules are finalised.

Business Environment

Banking Relationships

Commercial banking is dominated by Bank Muscat, the National Bank of Oman, Sohar International, Bank Dhofar, and a small number of other CBO-licensed institutions. No public directive obliges banks to service registered virtual asset providers, and banking access depends on case-by-case risk assessments. The first registered provider in Oman, Easy Coins (trading name of Digital Digits), operates a rial on-and-off ramp supported by ThawaniPay, indicating that workable banking arrangements exist for entities that hold the necessary FSA registration. The new banking law of January 2025 modernises the prudential framework without introducing specific crypto-banking requirements.

Innovation Support

The FSA and the CBO operate a joint fintech sandbox for regulated and applicant entities, combining the former Capital Market Authority sandbox with the Central Bank’s fintech sandbox. A fintech desk within Invest Oman supports inbound investment in financial technology. Regulated crowdfunding has scaled meaningfully in recent years. The sovereign Vision 2040 economic diversification plan provides the overarching policy framework. Oman has additionally emerged as a significant location for licensed Bitcoin mining, with Green Data City in the Salalah region of Dhofar anchoring multiple large-scale operations by operators including Alps Blockchain, Phoenix Group, and Canaan. The Dhofar region’s naturally cooler climate, with summer temperatures below 29 degrees Celsius, reduces cooling energy requirements, and deep ocean water cooling is planned for future phases.

Crypto License in Oman

Oman’s virtual asset licensing regime is currently governed by Decision No. E/35/2023, issued by what was then the Capital Market Authority on 6 June 2023 and now administered by the Financial Services Authority. The decision establishes a registration system for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) and sets mandatory Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) requirements. A comprehensive Virtual Assets Regulatory Framework, developed in consultation with XReg Consulting Limited and Omani law firm Said Al-Shahry and Partners (SASLO), underwent public consultation in July 2023 and is expected to introduce full licensing tiers, market-abuse rules, and a detailed supervisory framework when formally enacted.

Licensing Requirements

Under Decision No. E/35/2023, all legal persons incorporated in Oman and all natural persons with a place of business in Oman that offer or conduct VASP services must register with the FSA before commencing activity. Foreign entities providing services to Omani residents are also within scope. Permitted service categories are: exchange between fiat currency and virtual assets; exchange between virtual assets; transfer of virtual assets; and safekeeping and administration of virtual assets. Anonymity-enhancing virtual assets are explicitly prohibited, and payment services and stored-value instruments remain within CBO jurisdiction.

Registered VASPs must implement comprehensive AML/CTF measures including customer risk assessments, ongoing transaction monitoring, internal policies and procedures for detecting and reporting suspicious transactions, and operational risk reporting to the FSA. Governance structures must be formally established; existing VASPs at the time of the decision were required to comply within three months. Identity verification partnerships, including one between Sumsub and the FSA, support VASP onboarding compliance. The forthcoming comprehensive framework is expected to introduce tiered licensing categories, additional conduct-of-business rules, and market-abuse surveillance obligations.

Authorised Activities

The four permitted activity categories under the current registration framework correspond to the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) definition of VASP activities: fiat-to-virtual asset exchange, virtual asset-to-virtual asset exchange, virtual asset transfer, and custody or administration. Initial coin offerings and token issuances are anticipated to fall within the forthcoming comprehensive framework’s scope but are not expressly addressed under Decision E/35/2023. Bitcoin mining is a separate industrial activity regulated through electricity allocation agreements with the Ministry responsible for energy, not through FSA registration. The stablecoin pilot by Easy Coins using a one-to-one rial-pegged instrument has been trialled under the existing registration with oversight from both the FSA and the CBO.

Application Process and Timeline

Applicants submit a registration application to the FSA’s virtual assets supervision department. The FSA is statutorily required to issue a decision on a complete application within one month. Successful applicants are entered into a public register and issued an approved certificate. Incomplete applications are returned with a request for additional information, which pauses the one-month clock. Given that the comprehensive framework has not yet been enacted, all current registrations are issued under the interim Decision E/35/2023 regime. Applicants should engage Omani legal counsel familiar with FSA practice before submitting, as documentary requirements and governance standards continue to evolve. The joint FSA-CBO sandbox allows applicants to trial regulated virtual asset services under a temporary licence before full registration.

Market Characteristics

Adoption Patterns

Domestic adoption is modest but growing. Oman has a high-income population of approximately five million, with a large South Asian expatriate workforce that drives a substantial cross-border remittance flow, principally to India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Stablecoin-denominated activity exists in both regulated and informal channels, with regulated rial on-and-off ramps available through Easy Coins and informal peer-to-peer activity continuing through offshore platforms. Easy Coins also trialled Tether USDT on the Tron blockchain for Omani users in 2024. Public-sector tokenisation pilots have begun in domains such as water utility payments: Oman Water and Waste Water Services Company (OWWSC), a member of the Nama Group, piloted the “Hasalah” rial-pegged stablecoin wallet developed by Digital Digits, indicating government willingness to test virtual asset rails in regulated environments.

Industry Focus

Industry activity clusters in two areas. The first is regulated retail and institutional virtual asset services, including exchange, transfer, custody, and stablecoin issuance for domestic settlement. The second, and globally more visible, is large-scale Bitcoin mining. Green Data City, operating in the Salalah area of Dhofar since 2022 as the country’s first licensed sustainable crypto-mining host, has a total allocated electricity capacity of 400 megawatts (MW). Its 200 MW first phase is operational, with a planned 400 MW hyperscale expansion incorporating natural and ocean-water cooling. Alps Blockchain, an Italian firm, scaled its Oman operation from 10 MW (completed June 2024) to 150 MW under its Alps Middle East SPC subsidiary, reaching full operational capacity in April 2025 and becoming the country’s largest single mining site. UAE-headquartered Phoenix Group committed USD 300 million to a 150 MW mining farm at Green Data City, targeting Q2 2024 for full operation. Canaan, the mining equipment manufacturer, also partnered with Green Data City. Total licensed mining capacity across all Oman projects is on a trajectory toward 1,200 MW, with Oman’s hashrate estimated at approximately 2.6% of the Bitcoin network in the second half of 2024.

Regulatory Evolution

Oman is a member of the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF). A joint FATF/MENAFATF mutual evaluation was conducted during January and February 2024, with the report approved and published in December 2024. The evaluation recognised Oman’s significantly improved technical compliance and positive results in financial intelligence use, international cooperation, counter-terrorism financing measures, and proliferation financing sanctions. The FSA’s financial intelligence unit was noted for its sophisticated artificial intelligence systems. Areas identified for improvement include deepening money-laundering investigation capacity beyond self-laundering cases, strengthening border confiscation of proceeds, and risk-based supervision of legal persons. Oman was placed in enhanced follow-up and will report back to MENAFATF within one year; it is not on the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring. Within the GCC, Oman occupies a mid-tier position, operating a national licensing model that is more advanced than Saudi Arabia and Kuwait but behind the most developed UAE and Bahraini regimes.