Lebanon meets with Binance on Crypto regulation

Lebanon’s Minister of Economy, Amer Bisat, met this week with senior executives from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, to discuss what both sides described as a pivotal moment for Lebanon’s financial future, one being shaped not by government design, but by popular necessity.

In a statement issued following the meeting, Bisat acknowledged what economists and residents have long observed: crypto trading among Lebanese citizens is “significant and growing.” Stablecoins such as Tether (USDT) have become a de facto medium of exchange in Beirut and other cities, filling a void left by a banking sector that collapsed in 2019 and a Lebanese pound that has shed more than 90 percent of its value.

The talks signal an escalation in Lebanon’s regulatory ambitions. An inter-ministerial committee has already begun laying the groundwork for a digital asset framework, according to government officials. But the task is complicated by the very informal ecosystem that policymakers are now trying to bring into the open.

A Market Born of Crisis

Lebanon’s embrace of cryptocurrency predates any regulatory discussion. When the country’s financial system imploded in late 2019, triggering bank deposit freezes, capital controls, and an unprecedented currency collapse, citizens turned to peer-to-peer crypto markets, Telegram trading groups, and informal over-the-counter (OTC) networks to protect their savings and conduct basic transactions.

According to a regulatory analysis by Coinfomania, Lebanon’s crypto landscape occupies a legal gray zone: the Banque du Liban (BDL) has prohibited licensed banks from handling cryptocurrency transactions since 2013, but has not enforced restrictions on peer-to-peer trading. The result is a sprawling shadow market operating with little consumer protection and no formal anti-money laundering oversight, a dynamic that senior BDL officials have cited as a driver of the country’s placement on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) gray list.

Lebanon ranked among the top 20 countries worldwide for cryptocurrency transaction volume per capita, reflecting the scale of adoption that has occurred without formal infrastructure. For young professionals, freelancers, and small-business owners, digital wallets have proven more reliable than bank accounts, a reality the minister appeared to concede.

Opportunity, With Caveats

Bisat framed the expansion of crypto use as a structural opportunity, suggesting it could open doors to “deeper financial markets, wider investment options, and more modern payment systems.” But he was measured in his optimism, stressing that digital assets carry financial, legal, and cross-border risks that “require careful management.”

Those risks are well-documented. Crypto markets remain volatile. Consumer protection in Lebanon’s informal OTC ecosystem is virtually nonexistent. And without clear anti-money laundering frameworks, regulators have struggled to track capital flows or ensure tax compliance. A BDL official cited in reporting by CoinShares has called for an EU-style framework modeled on the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, noting that Lebanese judges are already exercising strict enforcement in certain cases to help the country exit the FATF gray list.

Binance, for its part, has been aggressively expanding its regulatory footprint. In December 2025, the exchange became the first cryptocurrency platform to secure a global operating license under the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) framework, a development its co-CEO, Richard Teng, described as evidence of the company’s commitment to “compliance, transparency, and user protection.” The company already operates licensed entities in France, the UAE, Bahrain, and more than a dozen other jurisdictions.

The Diaspora Factor

The meeting follows Bisat’s participation in the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, where he emphasized the diaspora’s central role in Lebanon’s economic recovery. That emphasis is grounded in data. According to World Bank estimates, Lebanon received $5.8 billion in remittances in 2024, representing roughly 17.7 percent of the country’s nominal GDP, the 17th highest ratio globally. In 2023, the figure stood at $6.7 billion, constituting more than 30 percent of GDP, placing Lebanon among the most remittance-dependent economies in the world.

Transferring those funds cheaply and reliably has been a persistent challenge. According to the World Bank, the average cost of sending remittances to Lebanon is roughly 11 percent, nearly double the global average of 6 percent and far above the 5 percent cost typical of neighboring countries like Egypt and Jordan. Cryptocurrency-based transfers have emerged as a low-cost alternative, with some users reporting fees as low as 2 to 3 percent via stablecoin channels on Binance, compared to double-digit fees charged by traditional money transfer operators.

A regulated crypto framework, proponents argue, could formalize and accelerate these flows while providing the legal certainty needed to attract diaspora-led investment in technology, agriculture, and green innovation sectors Bisat has publicly identified as priorities.

A Regulatory Crossroads

Analysts caution that the path from dialogue to durable regulation in Lebanon is rarely straightforward. The country has spent years navigating political fragmentation and institutional dysfunction, and the banking sector’s ongoing recapitalization efforts add further complexity. The IMF, which has conditioned financial support on a suite of structural reforms, is also expected to push for formal crypto oversight as part of broader financial modernization requirements.

The crypto market in Lebanon is projected to generate approximately $7 million in revenue in 2025, rising to $7.3 million by 2026, with an estimated 430,800 users by next year, according to market projections cited by Coinfomania. Those numbers, while modest on a global scale, represent an informal economy with real political salience, one that the government can no longer afford to ignore.

Bisat’s public acknowledgment that crypto is “significant and growing” marks a shift in official posture. For the first time, digital assets are being discussed not as a threat to be contained, but as infrastructure to be built.