Morocco Soon to Create Law on Cryptocurrency

Morocco will soon issue a Law on Crypto. (photo: bitcoin news)

JAKARTA - The Moroccan government may see its first crypto bill introduced "in the following days." The document has been written by the Central Bank and will be discussed with industry stakeholders.

Late last month, during a press conference, the Governor of the Central Bank of Morocco, Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM), Abdellatif Jouahiri, announced a series of discussions between BAM and market participants. Regulators, such as the Moroccan Capital Markets Authority (AMMC), Insurance and Social Security Supervisory Authority (ACAPS), will also participate. This will precede the adoption of crypto law in the country.

According to Jouahiri, BAM is working with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank while working on the document. Previous reports claimed that Moroccan officials also contacted the central banks of France, Sweden, and Switzerland to study their regulatory experiences with digital assets.

The draft will offer a definition of crypto, “adapted to the Moroccan context” and aim to protect individuals without limiting innovation. While the details of the bill weren't disclosed, it couldn't be stricter than the current law, which completely bans crypto trading.

Cointelegraph reported, in 2022, Morocco became the fastest-growing crypto market in North Africa, from 2.4% of the population that owed digital assets in 2021 to 3.1% a year later.

In 2020, Soluna implemented the first blockchain-powered wind farm in Dakhla, the South and windiest district of Morocco. The excess energy from these farms powers the crypto-mining operations there.

A recent report from Chainalysis reveals that the crypto market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is the fastest growing in the world. Transaction volume in the MENA region reveals users received USD 566 billion in crypto in the period July 2021 to June 2022. This is 48% more than the previous year.