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P2P Crypto Trading in Saudi Arabia: Legal Status, Transfers and Risks

What matters for P2P trading in Saudi riyals: how the authorities view virtual currencies, whether crypto profits are subject to tax or zakat, the limits on instant bank transfers and STC Bank, and how traders end up in money laundering and account-renting cases.

AuthorAntonio MerklePublishedOctober 30, 202610 min read

P2P exchanges with SAR and the current spread

The riyal trades on all nine P2P exchanges P2P.Army tracks, and Binance holds about 59% of the ads. None of them holds a Saudi license to provide crypto services to individuals. In September 2024 Binance P2P launched a pilot merchant ambassador program in Saudi Arabia. The table below is live.

Live dataSAR on P2P exchanges right now

Exchange	Buy USDT	Sell USDT	Spread	Ads	Activity 24H
Binance	3.855	3.835	+0.54%	1,288	44,851
Okx	3.893	3.817	+1.99%	341	6,656
Bybit	3.961	3.896	+1.68%	237	3,698
Mexc	4.083	3.791	+7.72%	122	3,876
Kucoin	4.127	3.791	+8.84%	97	56
Gate	4.213	3.786	+11.29%	64	340
BingX	4.346	3.938	+10.36%	62	52
Bitget	4.083	3.794	+7.61%	55	932
HTX	4.100	3.758	+9.11%	22	0

Averages mix different payment methods and include ads from new accounts, so a large or negative spread in the table is a reason to check, not to trade.

Payment methods

Bank transfer and sarie

Most SAR trades are paid by bank transfer, often via the sarie instant payment system, launched on February 20, 2021 and running around the clock. The instant transfer limit is SAR 20,000, or just SAR 2,500 if the beneficiary has not been added in advance, and transfers can be made by mobile number. In April 2022 the Saudi Central Bank announced temporary anti-fraud precautions, including a daily limit of SAR 60,000 for individuals that can be raised at the customer’s request; check the current limit with your bank.

STC Bank (formerly stc pay)

The former stc pay is now a digital bank: the Central Bank’s approval for STC Bank to start operations was announced on January 28, 2025, and stc pay wallets can be upgraded to bank accounts. As a result, the same customer verification and transaction monitoring requirements as for banks apply to it.

Banks and payment service providers in the Kingdom do not support crypto transactions, and we found no published Al Rajhi Bank policy on them. In May–July 2026, transfers from Saudi Arabia to the UAE were reportedly delayed or returned; the Central Bank said there are no direct restrictions on specific countries and that banks apply risk-based procedures.

Tax, zakat and regulation

On the religious (Sharia) side, we found no published official Saudi ruling on cryptocurrencies. The IslamQA website (May 2024) holds that digital currencies take the ruling of paper money and that their zakat is 2.5% of their value once a lunar year has passed, if they reach the nisab (595 grams of silver), while Sheikh Abdullah Al-Manea, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, described bitcoin in 2018 as a form of usury (riba) and gambling. Consult scholars you trust.

1. Aug 12, 2018

   Standing Committee: virtual currencies are not recognized

   They also fall outside the regulatory umbrella.
2. Feb 20, 2021

   Launch of sarie

   Instant transfers around the clock.
3. Apr 2022

   Central Bank anti-fraud measures

   A daily limit for individuals and a temporary suspension of remote account opening.
4. Dec 13, 2023

   New warning against unlicensed digital currencies

   With examples of fraud schemes.
5. Jan 28, 2025

   STC Bank begins operations

   stc pay wallets can be upgraded to bank accounts.
6. Apr 2026

   Anti-Money Laundering Law amendments

   Confiscation of funds of unknown origin.

Local risks

The most serious danger for a USDT seller in Saudi Arabia is that their account becomes part of a money laundering operation. In 2019 the Public Prosecution warned against cash deposits on behalf of others and transfers to unknown accounts, and classified digital transactions with proceeds of crime as money laundering. In June 2021 a citizen who rented out his accounts to an expatriate through a sham company — through which about SAR 6 million was transferred abroad — and the expatriate were each sentenced to 3 years in prison, with the citizen banned from travel for 3 years and the expatriate deported.

Fraud schemes flagged by the Standing Committee include impersonating well-known people and companies, fake financial aid, quick-profit offers and fake trading tips; the Committee advises reporting them to the police. We found no published Saudi case involving P2P trading specifically.

• Trade with counterparties who have more than 100 orders and a 95%+ completion rate; for large amounts, verified merchants only.
• Accept money only from the verified (KYC) account holder — not from a third party, a relative or a “company account”.
• Check that the money has arrived in your own banking app, not from a screenshot or an SMS.
• Use a separate account for P2P trading and withdraw profit regularly.
• For every trade, save the order number, chat, bank statement, transfer reference and the counterparty’s KYC name.
• Never rent out your bank account or card to anyone, and do not accept cash deposits from people you do not know.
• Do not complete a trade if the money is paid from someone else’s account or from a company account.

Full SAR market statistics — exchanges, average prices, activity and payment methods — are on the SAR page.

About the author

Antonio Merkle

Crypto expert, arbitrage trader and investor

Crypto expert and hands-on crypto arbitrage trader, investor and software developer with over 20 years of experience. On the P2P.Army blog he covers exchange news, P2P and cross-exchange arbitrage.

• Crypto arbitrage
• P2P arbitrage
• Cross-exchange arbitrage
• Crypto exchanges
• Investing
• Software development

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