Rabat, (Business News Report) – The Moroccan Ministry of Economy and Finance said that it is studying licensing digital currencies.
Minister Nadia Alaoui confirmed that her country is studying the feasibility of licensing during a plenary session that will be organized by the Moroccan House of Representatives.
There are risks related to cryptocurrency trading, including money laundering and terrorist financing, Alaoui said.
Licensing digital currencies
“Regarding the need for a legal framework regulating dealing with cryptocurrencies, the ministry is working with the Central Bank and international partners, to study the feasibility of legalization,” she added.
On November 20, 2017, Morocco announced that dealing with virtual currencies is against the law and exposes perpetrators to penalties and fines.
The (governmental) Exchange Office said in a statement at the time that “Dealing with virtual money poses a danger to dealers, because it is virtual money that is not adopted by official authorities, and its original owners always remain anonymous.”
Morocco fears for its economy and its local currency, as a result of the exit of foreign exchange through the virtual currency trade, which may at some stage reduce the foreign exchange supply.
Virtual currencies have continued to record consecutive declines for nearly two weeks. This is partly due to what is happening in Kazakhstan, one of the most prominent capitals of virtual currency mining.
Digital currencies are still far from the largest total market value, recorded last November, of $3 trillion. It is now $2.04 trillion.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin is the largest digital currency by market capitalization and the most popular in the world. Cryptocurrencies are not subject to a censor like a government or central bank, unlike the rest of the currencies in the world.
The price of the digital currency Bitcoin fell, on Monday evening, to less than $40,000 per unit for the first time since last September. It is heading to record its worst annual start since the emergence of the digital currency.
Bloomberg News Agency indicated that the most important digital currency in the world fell today by 6% to $39,774 per unit. It lost about 14% of its value since the beginning of this year.
This decline is the largest at the beginning of any year since at least 2012.
