Morocco Leads North Africa in Bitcoin Trading, Ranks 4th in Africa Despite Crypto Ban

With $900,000 in bitcoin exchanged on LocalBitcoins in February last and a bitcoin trading volume of $6 million recorded last year, Morocco is the country with the highest Bitcoin transaction volume in North Africa in 2021, says Triple. 2.4% of the Moroccan population is invested in cryptocurrencies, which places the kingdom in 4th place on the African continent, behind Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya. Despite the impact of Covid-19 on the economy, peer-to-peer Bitcoin trading volumes have steadily increased in Morocco in recent years, reaching a record level of 2.18 million dirhams in 2020, notes the platform.

Cryptocurrencies are booming in Morocco while the authorities of the kingdom have banned their use. In November 2017, the Foreign Exchange Office had warned Moroccans that virtual currency transactions constituted an offense to foreign exchange regulations and were punishable by sanctions and fines. Financial regulators continue to be skeptical about the use of cryptocurrencies, while Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM) is considering the creation of an e-dirham. Morocco has already equipped itself with an institutional framework dedicated to the theme of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).