Morocco warns again about the risk of using cryptocurrencies

Rabat, Apr 6 (.).- The financial authorities in Morocco once again warned citizens and companies about the risk of using cryptocurrencies such as , whose use is prohibited in the Maghreb country.

“Despite previous clarifications related to the risks associated with the use of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, it has been observed that there are individuals and legal entities that continue to use this type of procedure,” explained in a joint statement the central bank Bank al Maghrib, the Moroccan Authority for the Moroccan Capital Market and the Foreign Exchange Office.

The three institutions warn that it is an “unregulated and highly volatile” activity that causes the absence of “all protection” for the consumer, despite its “attractive and user-friendly” nature.

Likewise, the three institutions warn about the use “for illicit purposes” of these cryptocurrencies in money laundering or the financing of criminal activities.

“The financial authorities urge interested persons to strictly comply with current regulations,” indicated the three regulatory institutions, adding that they prohibit these currencies “to protect the citizen against any legal drift or financial loss.”

The Moroccan press recently picked up the estimates of “Triple A”, a platform specialized in cryptocurrencies based in Singapore, which predicted that 2.4% of the Moroccan population owns a digital currency.

This platform assured that Morocco registered a Bitcoin exchange volume worth 6 million dollars (5.4 million euros) in 2021, the highest in North Africa.

The use of cryptocurrencies has been prohibited since 2017 in Morocco, although recently the governor of the central bank, Abdelatif Juahri, indicated that his institution is currently consulting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to contemplate a legal framework that regulates these digital currencies in the Maghreb country.