Cuba Central Bank Authorizes 10 Firms to Use Crypto Payments Abroad

• Cuba’s Central Bank authorized 10 firms to use cryptocurrencies for foreign payments.
• Listed firms include Ingenius Tecnologías, Dofleini, La Calesa Real, La Meknica, and others.
• The framework includes one-year licenses, quarterly reporting, and no domestic crypto use.

On March 23, 2026, Cuba’s Central Bank issued its first licenses since 2021 to 10 companies, mostly private, in IT, manufacturing, transport, and gastronomy, to use cryptocurrencies exclusively for international payments, bypassing U.S. sanctions that have exacerbated a six-year economic crisis.

Cuba Central Bank Authorized 10 Firms to Use Crypto Payments Abroad

The Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) published Resolution 4/2026 in the Extraordinary Official Gazette No. 46, marking a significant step in the island’s cautious adoption of virtual assets. 

This resolution grants specific authorization to ten companies, including nine MSMEs and one joint venture in sectors such as tech, gastronomy, and transport, to use cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets exclusively for cross-border payments.

The companies are namely Ingenius Tecnologías, Dofleini, La Calesa Real, La Meknica, Cema Soltec, El Asadito, Pasarela Digital SURL, Ara, and DASQOM SURL, and the joint venture Productos Sanitarios S.A. Prosa.

Economic Strain Caused by 11% GDP Decline, Peso Devaluation, and U.S. Sanctions

Cuba’s authorization of ten entities to use cryptocurrencies for cross-border payments under Resolution 4/2026 comes amid one of the island’s deepest economic crises since the 1990s Special Period. Notably, Cuba’s GDP has decreased by 15% since 2020, with CEEC reporting GDP drops of 10.9% in 2020, 1.9% in 2023, 1.1% in 2024, and around 5% in 2025.

The Cuban peso has also devalued sharply in the informal market, where the dollar traded at 515 CUP and the euro at 580 CUP by March 2026. In late 2025, the Central Bank launched a managed floating exchange rate near 410 CUP per USD to attract foreign currency, but parallel rates still expose inflation and dollarization pressures.

Furthermore, U.S. sanctions, including Cuba’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, have restricted access to global banking, credit, and energy markets. Recent oil shipment restrictions triggered blackouts and worsened stagnation. Cuba’s crypto licenses mandate quarterly reporting and exclusive use of BCC-approved Virtual Asset Service Providers to ensure compliance and limit speculation.

What’s The Impact on Cuba’s Economy and Crypto Policy?

By allowing select MSMEs and one joint venture company to route cross-border payments through licensed virtual asset service providers such as Lithuania-based EBIORO UAB, the Central Bank aims to:

• Facilitate imports and supplier payments more efficiently.
• Tap into diaspora remittances and international transactions with lower friction.
• Deliver socio-economic benefits under strict oversight (one-year licenses, quarterly reporting, and prohibition on domestic crypto use).

This could modestly improve import efficiency, supplier relationships, and diaspora-linked transactions for the approved firms, potentially generating small socio-economic benefits without exposing the broader system to volatility or domestic circulation risks.

However, its narrow scope, including one-year revocable licenses, mandatory quarterly reporting, and a ban on domestic use, limits immediate economic relief amid GDP stagnation, high inflation, and an informal peso rate near 515 per USD.

Therefore, analysts see it as a targeted tool for economic survival rather than a transformative shift, with long-term impact hinging on compliance, volatility management, and possible expansion in 2027. Cuba’s crypto framework remains among the region’s most tightly controlled, emphasizing oversight over rapid innovation.

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