BCEAO surveys fintechs on crypto: first regulatory movement across the eight-state UEMOA bloc

At the end of February 2026 the BCEAO circulated a questionnaire to fintech operators on possible uses of cryptocurrencies in the regional financial system, the first known crypto survey from the central bank of the eight-member UEMOA zone (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo). The BCEAO has never issued a formal crypto directive and licenses no VASPs, so a pre-consultation instrument is a genuine posture change: from silence to intelligence-gathering. Whatever framework follows will apply simultaneously across all eight states. One regulatory event, eight markets. Reported in French by Jeune Afrique; the questionnaire itself has not been published. Translation ours. Re-verified 6 July 2026: the posture change accelerated. On 8 May the BCEAO convened an international conference on crypto-assets in Dakar (cpm-2026-0026).