- Cambodia’s authorities maintain a cautious attitude towards crypto, allowing it to develop in some areas, but regulating it in others.
- Overall, the policy focus appears to be on improving state oversight, boosting financial inclusion, supporting the fiat currency, and modernizing the country’s financial system.
- Crypto is growing in popularity in Cambodia and clearly has broader potential if conducive policies are put in place and issues like corruption and crime are addressed.
- Our Crypto in Action page has more stories about crypto’s take up in countries throughout the world.
How do Cambodian’s use crypto?
Cambodia is witnessing growing adoption of crypto, ranking 17th globally, with remittance payments and P2P usage driving interest. It is primarily youth driving interest; figures suggest that more than 66% of crypto users in the country are aged between 18 and 24, and if this is extended to 34, this encompasses almost 97% of all users. A lack of financial inclusion in part drives interest. The cryptocurrency market is forecast to achieve a revenue of $7.5 million during 2025, and users are expected to exceed 530,000 (or just over 3% of the population).
What is the authorities’ attitude to crypto in Cambodia?
The authorities have taken a cautious line on crypto, seeing opportunities in the sector – particularly in the area of financial inclusion – while also remaining keen to balance its risks.
- Promoting financial inclusion
For several years, the authorities have been developing the Bakong digital payment system and there is clear interest in continuing to expand this to boost inclusion and oversight, as well as better support the fiat, the Cambodia riel. Policy towards the crypto sector should in part be judged within these wider goals.
Project Bakong was formally launched in 2020 after several years of development with Japanese support. Designed as a blockchain-based, P2P payment and money transfer platform, it has been described as both a CBDC and a tokenized deposit system. The user has a Bakong wallet, which is automatically linked to their bank account. It has become widely used domestically (as of 2024, more than 65% of the population used it) and has been integrated into regional payment systems.
- Enhancing regulation
In January 2025, the central bank, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), published the country’s first set of digital asset rules, which apply to banks and payment service providers. Qualifying stablecoins and tokenized securities were classed as Group 1 (similar to the Basel Committee’s division of crypto assets), with crypto assets that are considered riskier (typically unbacked coins like Bitcoin) falling into Group 2.
Banks require NBC approval to operate in the sector (either for their own purposes or on behalf of a client), are restricted to tokenization and stablecoins, and their exposure in Group 1 is capped at 5% of capital.
The move came after a number of developments in the crypto sphere during 2024, including the decision in November 2024 on the part of the Telecommunications Regulator of Cambodia (TRC) to block access to 16 overseas cryptocurrency exchange sites, on the basis that they were operating “without proper licenses and authorisations”.
- Strengthening oversight
Several reasons have been suggested for the ban although the authorities themselves have not clarified their position. Among these is the desire to strengthen state oversight. Cambodia has a FinTech Regulatory Sandbox, in which – like many other countries – it pilots technologies and systems. There are two local exchange platforms in this sandbox, but to date, overseas exchanges like Binance have proven more popular with Cambodia’s crypto users because of their lower trading fees and larger base for P2P trading.
In banning external exchanges, the authorities are seeking to press Cambodians to use local platforms, which can be regulated. It has also been suggested that the authorities want to promote the demand for local currency. Cambodia runs a dual-currency system, in which more than 80% of transactions are conducted in US dollars, but the authorities are keen to reduce this dependence and boost the riel’s stability.
Shortly after the ban, the NBC for the first time, permitted commercial banks and payment firms – once a license has been granted – to provide crypto-related services. This, however, did not extend to Bitcoin and other unbacked tokens. This means that once authorized, banks and payment firms can convert crypto to and from fiat currencies, as well as transfer cryptocurrencies between accounts and provide custody services.
- Combating corruption and criminals
Another strong motivation for caution and oversight comes from the authorities’ widespread concerns about the misuse of crypto, not only in Cambodia but the region more widely. A report released in 2024 highlighted the scale of the issue, with the Cambodian-based online marketplace, Huione Guarantee – widely used by scammers – believed to have processed $49 billion in crypto transactions since 2021.
The authorities have sought to take action, tackling some elements like fraudulent online gambling, and encouraging the reporting of crimes, but corruption is endemic and will continue to create problems for the sector’s healthy development.
Timeline of crypto events and regulations
2016
The NBC established a working group to explore the use of blockchain-based payment systems.
2017
In April, the NBC signed an agreement with a Japanese firm to develop a blockchain-based system for its internal use to track interbank lending and transactions.
Six months later, the NBC signed an agreement with a Malaysian bank to start experimenting with digital wallets for cross-border transactions.
2018
The NBC, Securities and Regulator Exchange Regulator of Cambodia (SERC), and General-Commissariat of National Police in Cambodia released a joint statement warning that it was illegal to pursue activities related to crypto (circulation, trading etc.) without a license.
2019
Project Bakong was trialed in July. The platform had the support of 11 national banks and was to be initially used for domestic payments.
2020
Project Bakong went live in October.
2021
In May, Cambodia saw the arrival of its first blockchain-based international remittance service, following a join venture between SBI Holdings and Ripple.
2022
In June, the SERC signed an MoU with Binance, agreeing to develop a legal framework for regulating and developing Cambodia’s digital asset industry.
December saw a second MoU signed, this time between SERC and Cambo Trust Plc, with the aim of implementing a FinTech regulatory sandbox.
2024
In February, SERC signed an MoU with KS Green Co Ltd, aimed at boosting SERC’s knowledge, experience and technical skills in fintech, with a focus on Securities Token Offering (STO) and Carbon Credit STO.
In April, the NBC issued a statement in which it said that banks and financial institutions were not allowed to handle cryptocurrency transactions.
The following month, NBC governor, Chea Serey, voiced optimism that a digital currency would strengthen the riel and reduce reliance on the dollar.
In August, Ouk Sarat, the NBC’s deputy director-general revealed that the central bank was drafting legislationthat would specify the conditions under which commercial banks and payment services could be authorized to carry out some crypto asset activities.
In November, the TRC blocked access to 16 overseas crypto currency exchange websites, including Binance, because they lacked the proper licenses.
In December, the NBC issued regulations splitting crypto assets into two groups and allowing commercial banks and payment firms permission to provide some crypto-related services.
Policy changes required to help develop the crypto sector
The authorities are expected to continue their cautious approach, but if the overall policy aims are to stabilize the riel and modernize the country’s financial system, further changes will be required.
If the authorities want Cambodians to primarily use local platforms for crypto transactions, then they must make them viable alternatives to popular foreign ones like Binance and Coinbase. This means ensuring that fees are competitive and providing good customer support to address any problems.
The alternative is to broaden legislation to include oversight of foreign exchanges and lift the ban on their access to the market. To achieve this, Cambodia would have to propose strict AML and CFT measures, as well as a number of customer protection protocols, to which external exchanges would then have to agree to adhere. Notably, local exchanges have taken some of these steps already, particularly KYC checks.
The government might also want to continue to develop Project Bakong integrating the system with domestic cryptocurrency exchanges, a move that would further encourage the use of the riel.
In general, broader regulation is required to boost protections for crypto users, which in turn, would help to usher greater transparency into the sector.
