Regulator: Banque du Liban (BDL); Capital Markets Authority (CMA); Special Investigation Commission (SIC)
Lebanon has no dedicated stablecoin regulatory framework. The Banque du Liban's institutional directives (2013 ban, reinforced 2018) prohibit financial institutions from all cryptocurrency activities, effectively blocking all formal stablecoin channels. No legislation explicitly criminalizes individual peer-to-peer trading, creating a legal gray zone where informal markets operate without permission but without formal prohibition. Law No. 81/2018 contains ambiguous "digital money" criminalization but does not establish coherent stablecoin rules. Stablecoins (primarily USDT) function as de facto financial infrastructure due to capital controls and banking crisis, but remain technically unregulated. General AML/CFT compliance applies to all virtual asset activity. No licensing system exists for stablecoin service providers.
