The Central Bank of Morocco has proposed a draft regulatory framework for Cryptocurrency, preparing to move towards compliance.

The Central Bank of Morocco is preparing to lift the previous ban on Virtual Money and has proposed amendments to the draft Cryptocurrency regulatory framework. Abdellatif Jouahri, Governor of the Central Bank of Morocco, revealed on Tuesday at a meeting in Rabat that the Central Bank Al-Maghrib is preparing to promote a Cryptocurrency regulatory plan.

If Morocco regulates Cryptocurrency through legislation, it will become the seventh country in the African continent to legalize it, following Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Mauritius, Ghana, and Egypt. According to Forbes, the growth rate of Cryptocurrency in Morocco increased from 2.4% to 3.1% between 2021 and 2022.

The Central Bank of Morocco, Al-Maghrib, is drafting legislation to regulate cryptocurrency assets with the support of all stakeholders and the World Bank, and it is currently undergoing the approval process.

When discussing digital currency innovation, Jouahri said that the Central Bank of Morocco is considering how to issue a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) through Central Bank issuance. In this project, reference is made to the international CBDC model for evaluating potential benefits. Like many countries in the world, Morocco is exploring the extent to which a Central Bank Digital Currency can contribute to achieving public policy objectives, especially in terms of financial inclusion.

In 2017, the forex bureau in charge of regulating forex, international trade and financial activities in Morocco classified virtual currency trading as a violation of forex regulations and imposed penalties on individual users.

Despite the official ban, the use of cryptocurrency in Morocco continues to rise, and the increasing interest of the public in cryptocurrency has prompted the authorities to reevaluate the government's position.

In December 2022, Al-Maghrib Bank announced that it had finalized the drafting of a Cryptocurrency regulation bill, which means that the government will encourage innovation while conducting regulatory assessments at the same time.

In addition, worth following is the recent visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Casablanca, Morocco, where he met with Crown Prince Hassan. Morocco has signed free trade agreements with both the United States and Europe and was the first African country to join China's Belt and Road Initiative. Morocco's long-standing friendship with China is a smart move in China's diplomatic and trade policies, allowing it to navigate between the EU and the US without being controlled. The accelerated legislation of the cryptocurrency framework also opens another window for Morocco, allowing its financial market to open up to a wider angle and attract more potential foreign investment.

This article presents the draft Cryptocurrency regulatory framework proposed by Morocco's Central Bank, preparing to move towards compliance. It was first published on ChainNews ABMedia.