Morocco on course to launch crypto assets

Morocco’s central bank has prepared a draft law allowing the use of crypto assets in the country, Central Bank governor Abdellatif Jouahri said.

The central bank “with the participation of all stakeholders and the support of the World Bank, has prepared a draft law regulating crypto assets, which is currently in the adoption process,” Jouahri told participants in the fourth Regional High-Level Symposium on Financial Stability held in Rabat.

Financial authorities in the country have banned cryptocurrencies since 2017.

“In Morocco, we became aware of the issue as early as 2017 and initially focused on raising public awareness about the associated risks. Later, taking into account developments in international regulation, the Moroccan authorities adopted a regulatory approach aimed at ensuring adequate protection for users and investors, while preserving the opportunities to capitalize on these innovations,” Jouahri said.

The Moroccan central bank was also working on central bank digital currencies CBDC, while reviewing the extent to which this new form of currency could contribute to achieving certain public policy objectives, particularly in terms of financial inclusion.

“We launched the CBDC project more than three years ago with the aim of anticipating and guiding the strategic choices and decisions of Bank Al-Maghrib in this area. The project also seeks to strengthen our capacity and expertise on this complex and multidimensional issue,” he said.

However, Jouahri said digital currencies was a “a long-term endeavor” that must take into account the national socio-economic context, the evolution of the regional and international environment, as well as the impact on some of the missions of the central bank, particularly monetary policy and financial stability.