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Is Monero legal? A country-by-country guide for 2026

Owning Monero is legal in the US, UK, EU, Canada, Australia and India, but exchanges restrict it. The rules in each place, compared side by side.

Updated · 3 min read

Written and fact-checked by the Mantis Payments team. Reviewed by Basit Nasir, Founder and CEO.

In short

  • As of November 2026, owning Monero is legal in the US, the UK, the EU, Canada, Australia and India.
  • In all six, the rules fall on businesses: exchanges must register with a regulator or hold a licence.
  • Kraken doesn’t offer Monero in the UK, the EEA or Australia, ended Canadian trading in 2025 and delisted it in India.
  • From 10 July 2027, EU crypto firms can’t keep accounts that allow anonymity-enhancing coins; self-hosted wallet providers without access aren’t covered.
  • Selling, swapping or spending Monero can lead to a tax bill in every country we cover.

As of November 2026, owning Monero is legal in all six places our country guides cover: the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, Australia and India. None of them has a law that bans holding the coin. Their rules fall on the businesses that exchange it or hold it for customers, and many of those businesses no longer offer it.

This guide compares the six side by side, then looks at what their rules have in common. Each country has its own guide with the details and primary sources. If you’re new to the coin, start with what Monero is.

Is Monero legal? The six places we cover

WhereOwning MoneroWhat exchanges needOn Kraken, as of November 2026
United StatesLegal; no federal law bans itRegistration with FinCEN as a money transmitter[1]Offered, except to residents of Maine and New York, whom Kraken doesn’t serve[2]
United KingdomLegal; no law bans itRegistration with the FCA under the anti-money-laundering rules[3]UK clients can’t deposit or trade it[2]
European UnionNo EU law bans it; national laws can add rulesAuthorisation as a crypto-asset service provider under MiCA[4]Clients in the European Economic Area can’t deposit or trade it[2]
CanadaLegal; no law bans itRegistration with FINTRAC as a money services business[5]Trading for Canadian clients ended on 2 September 2025[6]
AustraliaLegal; no law bans itRegistration with AUSTRAC as a virtual asset service provider[7]Australian clients can’t deposit, hold or trade it[2]
IndiaNot illegal to ownRegistration with FIU-IND under the anti-money-laundering law[8]Delisted for clients in India[9]

Why is Monero hard to buy?

Because exchanges have dropped it, not because owning it is banned. Kraken shows the pattern. As of November 2026, it doesn’t let clients in the UK, the European Economic Area or Australia deposit or trade Monero.[2] It ended Monero trading for Canadian clients on 2 September 2025, citing compliance requirements in Canada,[6] and has delisted the coin for clients in India as part of its regular asset reviews.[9]

Where Kraken still offers Monero, as in the US, its limits page says that since 15 August 2026 individual accounts can deposit up to $3,500 of Monero and withdraw up to $1,500 per rolling 30 days.[10] Exchanges change their lists often, so check an exchange’s own asset list before you sign up. Our guide to why exchanges delist Monero looks at the reasons behind moves like these.

What do the rules have in common?

  • They regulate businesses, not holders. FinCEN says someone who uses privacy coins to pay for goods or services on their own behalf isn’t a money transmitter.[1] The EU’s ban on anonymous accounts, which applies from 10 July 2027, binds banks, financial institutions and crypto-asset service providers, and the regulation says it doesn’t apply to providers of self-hosted wallets that have no access to or control over those wallets.[11]
  • Exchanges must know who you are. In the US, for example, a money transmitter must keep an anti-money-laundering programme that includes verifying customers’ identities.[1] So a registered exchange holds your name alongside your trades, whatever the blockchain hides. Our guide to how private Monero is explains what the coin itself hides.
  • Privacy itself counts as a risk. UK firms must consider whether a product “might favour anonymity” when they judge whether a situation is high risk.[12] India’s FIU-IND lists “Anonymity-Enhanced Cryptocurrencies” as an area exposed to money-laundering risk.[8] And MiCA bars EU trading platforms from listing coins with a built-in anonymisation function unless the holders and their transaction history can be identified.[4]
  • Gains can be taxed. Selling, swapping or spending Monero can lead to a tax bill in every country we cover; in the EU, each member state sets its own rules. Each country guide explains how it works there.

What changes next?

DateWhereWhat happens
8 April 2027AustraliaPlatforms that hold crypto for clients come under financial services licensing[13]
10 July 2027European UnionBanks and crypto firms can’t keep accounts that allow anonymity through anonymity-enhancing coins[11]
25 October 2027United KingdomA new FCA authorisation regime for crypto firms comes fully into force[14]

For the details, read the guide for the US, the UK, the EU, Canada, Australia or India.

Questions people ask

Is Monero illegal anywhere?

Not in any of the six places our guides cover: the US, the UK, the EU, Canada, Australia and India. Their rules fall on the businesses that exchange or hold Monero, not on people who own it. We don’t cover every country, so check the rules where you live.

Will the EU ban Monero in 2027?

Not for individuals, on the text as adopted. From 10 July 2027, banks, financial institutions and crypto-asset service providers can’t keep accounts that allow anonymity through anonymity-enhancing coins. The rule doesn’t address people holding coins in their own wallets.

Why can’t I buy Monero on Kraken?

It depends where you live. As of November 2026, Kraken doesn’t let clients in the UK, the European Economic Area or Australia deposit or trade Monero, ended Monero trading for Canadian clients in September 2025 and delisted it for clients in India. US clients outside Maine and New York can still trade it, within deposit and withdrawal limits.

Sources

  1. [1]Application of FinCEN’s Regulations to Certain Business Models Involving Convertible Virtual Currencies (FIN-2019-G001), FinCEN, US Department of the Treasury
  2. [2]Where is Kraken licensed or regulated?, Kraken Support
  3. [3]The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/1511), legislation.gov.uk
  4. [4]Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA), EUR-Lex
  5. [5]Money services businesses (MSBs), FINTRAC
  6. [6]Notice of delisting for Monero (XMR) in Canada, Kraken Support
  7. [7]Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Act 2024 (No. 110, 2024), Federal Register of Legislation
  8. [8]AML & CFT Guidelines for Reporting Entities Providing Services Related to Virtual Digital Assets (10 March 2023), Financial Intelligence Unit–India
  9. [9]Notice of asset delistings in India (XMR, DASH, ZEC), Kraken Support
  10. [10]View your deposit and withdrawal limits, Kraken Support
  11. [11]Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing (AMLR), EUR-Lex
  12. [12]The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, regulation 33, legislation.gov.uk
  13. [13]Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act 2026 (No. 38, 2026), Federal Register of Legislation
  14. [14]The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026, regulation 1, legislation.gov.uk

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