Jordan Crypto License Cost Calculator
Calculate the total cost to obtain a crypto business license in Jordan under Law No. 14 of 2025.
- Preliminary Application JOD 5,000 ($7,000)
- Processing Fee JOD 15,000 ($21,100)
- Operational Readiness Review JOD 10,000 ($14,100)
- Total Cost JOD 30,000 ($42,200)
Your Total Cost
Total Cost in Jordanian Dinars:
JOD 30,000.00
Total Cost in US Dollars:
$42,200.00
Note: The total cost is fixed at JOD 30,000 under Law No. 14 of 2025. This calculator shows how the USD equivalent changes with different exchange rates.
Jordan’s Crypto Rules Changed Completely in 2025
For over a decade, the Central Bank of Jordan told banks and citizens: don’t touch cryptocurrency. That changed on September 14, 2025, when Law No. 14 of 2025 - the Virtual Assets Transactions Regulation Law - went into effect. This isn’t just a tweak. It’s a full reversal. What was once illegal is now tightly controlled, licensed, and monitored. If you’re trading crypto in Jordan, you need to know exactly what’s allowed, what’s banned, and what happens if you get it wrong.
What Was Banned Before 2025
Back in 2014, the Central Bank of Jordan issued a blunt warning: financial institutions couldn’t handle Bitcoin or any other virtual asset. No trading, no exchanges, no payments. The message was clear - crypto was too risky, too unregulated, and too easy to use for money laundering. For the next 11 years, that rule stayed in place. People still traded crypto, of course. Peer-to-peer deals happened in WhatsApp groups, Telegram channels, and cash meetups in Amman and Irbid. But those transactions had no legal protection. If you got scammed, there was no recourse. If a bank caught you sending crypto, you could be flagged or even shut down.
Why Did Jordan Change Its Mind?
The pressure came from abroad. In 2023, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) put Jordan on its grey list. That’s not a punishment you ignore. It means global banks are wary of doing business with Jordanian institutions. It makes it harder to get loans, attract foreign investment, or even process international payments. The FATF said Jordan’s weak oversight of virtual assets was a major gap. So Jordan had to act - fast. The solution wasn’t to double down on prohibition. It was to build a system that met global standards. The result: Law No. 14 of 2025.
What the New Law Actually Says
The law doesn’t ban crypto. It makes you ask for permission to use it. Here’s what it requires:
- Only licensed companies can offer crypto services in Jordan - exchanges, wallets, trading platforms, even crypto ATMs.
- Anyone promoting or running a crypto business without a license faces at least one year in prison and fines up to $141,000 (100,000 Jordanian Dinars).
- Every business must follow strict anti-money laundering rules: identify customers, track large transactions, report suspicious activity.
- Transactions over JOD 10,000 (about $14,100) must be reported to the Anti-Money Laundering Unit.
- Companies must keep records for five years and appoint a full-time AML officer.
- The Jordan Securities Commission (JSC), not the Central Bank, is now in charge of licensing and oversight.
Important note: This law doesn’t cover Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) or tokenized stocks. Those are handled separately by the Central Bank and JSC. This law is only for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other decentralized virtual assets.
How to Get Licensed in Jordan (Step by Step)
If you want to run a crypto business in Jordan, you’re looking at a multi-step, expensive process:
- Submit a preliminary application - costs JOD 5,000 ($7,000).
- Provide detailed compliance documentation - JOD 15,000 ($21,100) processing fee.
- Pass an operational readiness review - another JOD 10,000 ($14,100).
That’s JOD 30,000 (over $42,000) just to apply. And you haven’t even started building your system yet. Most startups don’t have that kind of cash. Even established firms are struggling. The licensing requirements are clear, but the capital needed isn’t. As of October 2025, the JSC hasn’t published minimum capital thresholds - a major source of uncertainty.
Who’s Affected the Most?
The new rules hit small operators hardest. Before 2025, informal crypto traders and local P2P platforms operated with low overhead. Now, they need legal teams, compliance software, and certified AML officers. A survey by the Jordan Fintech Association found that 73% of startups see integrating transaction monitoring tools as their biggest technical hurdle. There’s also a shortage of skilled workers. The National Employment Council says Jordan is 40% short on professionals who understand blockchain, AML rules, and regulatory reporting.
On the flip side, large international exchanges like Binance or Kraken now have a legal path to enter the Jordanian market. They already have the systems in place. For them, this law isn’t a barrier - it’s a roadmap.
How Are People Reacting?
Public opinion is split. On Reddit’s r/CryptoJordan, users like ‘AmmanTrader87’ say the new law is a relief: “Finally, something legal.” But others worry about the cost. “A $141,000 fine for a small P2P trader? That’s not regulation - that’s intimidation,” one user wrote.
Social media sentiment analysis from September 2025 shows 62% of Jordanians support having clear rules. But 78% believe the law will hurt small businesses and startups. Local exchange operators, like the former head of Jordan Crypto Exchange, say they’re stuck: “We’ve been operating for years. Now we don’t know if we can afford to apply.”
How Does Jordan Compare to Neighbors?
Jordan isn’t alone in changing its stance. But it’s not leading the pack.
- UAE: Has over 500,000 daily crypto traders. A full federal system with clear rules, multiple licenses, and tax incentives. Jordan is trying to catch up.
- Kuwait, Egypt, Iraq: Still ban crypto outright. No licenses. No exceptions.
- Bahrain: Processed $450 million in regulated crypto transactions in Q3 2025. More mature than Jordan’s new system.
Jordan’s approach is somewhere in the middle - stricter than the UAE, more open than its neighbors. But it’s playing catch-up. The UAE has had years to build infrastructure. Jordan started from zero.
What’s Next for Jordan’s Crypto Market?
The government isn’t stopping here. Several big moves are coming:
- DeFi regulation: A ministerial committee plans to draft rules for decentralized finance platforms by March 2026.
- CBDC pilot: The Central Bank of Jordan plans to launch a digital Jordanian dinar in Q3 2026.
- Sharia-compliant crypto: With 42 Islamic banks in the country, Jordan could become a hub for halal crypto products - something no other Middle Eastern country has seriously pursued.
Market projections are optimistic. Fitch Solutions predicts Jordan’s crypto transaction volume could jump from $150 million in 2024 to $750 million by 2027. That’s a 71% annual growth rate - if the system works.
The Big Risks
Even with good intentions, the new system has serious risks:
- Too few regulators: The JSC has only 12 staff members assigned to crypto oversight. That’s not enough to monitor hundreds of potential licensees.
- Enforcement gaps: Experts warn the transition from ban to regulation could create blind spots. Some operators may slip through.
- Brain drain: Skilled workers may leave for the UAE or Bahrain where jobs are easier to get and pay better.
- Regulatory arbitrage: Users may move their activity to neighboring countries with clearer rules.
Standard & Poor’s gives Jordan an 82% chance of long-term success - but only if it gets help from the IMF and FATF, and if it hires more staff and builds better tech.
What Should You Do?
If you’re a regular user in Jordan: You can still buy and hold crypto privately. The law doesn’t ban individuals from owning Bitcoin. But if you’re trading on a platform, make sure it’s licensed. Check the JSC’s official website for the current list of approved providers.
If you’re running a business: Don’t wait. Start preparing now. Hire an AML consultant. Get your compliance software in place. Contact the JSC’s Virtual Assets Help Desk - they offer 24/7 support in Arabic and English. But don’t expect everything to be easy. The process is expensive, slow, and complex.
If you’re an investor: Jordan’s market is still early. The upside is big - but so are the risks. Look for companies that can survive the licensing crunch. Those that make it will have a near-monopoly in a market of 11 million people.
Final Thoughts
The Central Bank of Jordan didn’t just change its mind about crypto. It rebuilt the entire system around it. This isn’t a policy tweak - it’s a national strategy. The goal is to remove Jordan from the FATF grey list, attract real investment, and build a modern digital economy. The law is detailed, tough, and expensive. It will push out small players. But it may also create space for serious, compliant businesses to grow. The next two years will tell us if Jordan can turn a reactive ban into a forward-looking framework - or if it’s just another regulation that looks good on paper but fails in practice.
This is actually a huge step forward for Jordan. I've been following crypto regulation in the MENA region for years, and this is the first time I've seen a country build a framework that balances safety with real-world adoption. The licensing fees are steep, but at least there's a path now.
Before, it was all shadow markets and WhatsApp scams. Now, if you get ripped off, you can actually file a report. That’s progress.
One must observe, with a certain degree of scholarly detachment, that Jordan has-after eleven years of doctrinaire prohibition-finally succumbed to the inevitable gravitational pull of global financial pragmatism. One cannot help but admire the bureaucratic rigor, even as one laments the crushing weight of compliance architecture upon the entrepreneurial spirit. The JSC, in its wisdom, has erected a cathedral of regulation... but who shall be permitted to worship within its gilded aisles?
Let’s be real. This isn’t regulation-it’s a tax on innovation disguised as financial reform. They’re not protecting consumers. They’re protecting banks. If you’re not a multinational with a legal department the size of a small country, you’re just a criminal waiting to happen. And don’t even get me started on the ‘AML officer’ requirement. That’s just a fancy way of saying ‘hire a guy who doesn’t know what blockchain is.’
FATF grey list? LOL. This is all just a psyop. The IMF and CIA have been pushing this since 2023 to monitor every crypto transaction in the region. They’re not worried about money laundering-they’re worried about people bypassing SWIFT and building decentralized networks outside their control. You think the JSC has 12 people? Nah. They’ve got NSA contractors behind the scenes scraping wallet addresses. Don’t trust the ‘licensed’ platforms. They’re all honeypots.
bro the whole thing is a scam. jordan banned crypto in 2014 because the royal family owned all the gold mines and didnt want people using btc to avoid their taxes. now they let it back in so they can tax it 40% and call it ‘financial inclusion’. same game. new name. they even made the license fee so high so only their cousins can get it. lol. #fakenews #cryptoisfreedom
This is actually kind of amazing 😊 I know the fees are insane, but imagine if this works-Jordan becomes the first Arab country to have a legit, transparent crypto market. Small traders might get crushed, but maybe this opens the door for real innovation down the line. Keep going, Jordan! 🚀🙌
I’ve analyzed the JSC’s public disclosures. The absence of minimum capital requirements is not an oversight-it’s a deliberate tactic to create regulatory ambiguity. This allows them to retroactively reject applications under ‘operational readiness’ grounds. The 73% of startups struggling with monitoring tools? That’s not a statistic-it’s a funnel. The real winners are the compliance software vendors from Silicon Valley. They’re already in talks with the JSC.