Morocco Drafts Law to Regulate Cryptocurrency Use, Reversing Previous Ban

Ranked 24th globally with nearly nine hundred thousand users of virtual currencies, particularly Bitcoin, Morocco is taking a big step towards the use of cryptocurrencies on its territory. A draft law regulating the use of cryptocurrencies is in the process of being drafted. It provides for a system of approvals and licenses for cryptocurrency exchange platforms, similar to the one adopted in France. At the helm are teams from Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM) but also the International Monetary Fund (IMF). A meeting was held in mid-July between the teams of the Moroccan central bank and Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchange platforms in the world, offering more than six hundred cryptocurrencies.

Badr Bellaj, a blockchain expert and co-founder of the company Mchain, welcomes the Moroccan initiative. "The announcement by the central bank of this draft law is very good news. I welcomed the announcement with great interest, because it will give legal status to cryptocurrency and it will protect Moroccan users," he told Arab News. However, according to him, the main difficulty would be in the choice of the consultant for this draft law. "Relying on the IMF for the development of the regulatory framework for cryptocurrency in Morocco sends a bad signal. We know that the IMF has a very conservative idea of this sector. I hope the central bank will not adopt the IMF’s instructions to the letter. We need a law that regulates cryptocurrency, but also authorizes its use under very specific conditions," warns the expert.

The adoption of this draft law will allow Morocco to position itself in this very lucrative sector. Badr Bellaj is convinced that the kingdom could become "a real African hub for cryptocurrencies." He supports his words: "Morocco is already well advanced in several areas related to finance. It has highly qualified human capital. The only thing missing was the legal framework. Thanks to this draft law, Morocco could join the closed club of regional hubs for cryptocurrencies, a very lucrative industry that will allow the creation of many jobs."