A report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis highlights Morocco’s enduring presence as one of the world’s leading countries in cryptocurrency adoption. This is notable, considering the ban on cryptocurrencies in the country, unclear regulations, and difficult market conditions.
The details
- Cryptocurrency Geography by Chainalysis report For the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Morocco ranks 20th globally for crypto adoption, although down from its previous rank of 14th.
“The MENA region is also home to three of the top 30 countries in this year’s index: Turkey (12th), Morocco (20th) and Iran (28th),” the report said.
- Furthermore, the country received the highest crypto transaction value from the African bloc in the MENA region: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia.
- Egypt, which ranked 24th for global crypto adoption and posted the highest growth rate of any MENA country in 2022, dropped out of the top 30.
Report title
- The MENA region was ranked as the sixth largest cryptocurrency economy, with an on-chain value of $389.8 billion, accounting for almost 7.2% of global trading volume.
- Turkey received the highest value of crypto transactions, around $170 billion.
- The rise has been attributed to rising inflation, a devalued currency – the Turkish lira – and a young, tech-savvy population.
- Saudi Arabia leads the crypto economy rankings with the highest year-over-year growth in trading volume, with an increase of 12% from the previous year.
- Chainalysis attributed this growth to a growing appetite among retail investors to diversify their portfolios and invest in the digital asset class, leading to an increase in crypto volumes.
Morocco’s resilient crypto-economy
- In addition to maintaining its rank on the Chainalysis table, financial site Insider Monkey recently find that Morocco also ranks 13th in the world for the use of Bitcoin.
- It also revealed that 4.9% of the Moroccan population owned some form of crypto in 2022.
- This despite a to forbid on cryptocurrencies and digital assets in place in the country since 2017.
- In June 2022, Morocco’s central bank, Bank Al-Maghrib, sparked optimism about a return to the ban by announcing that it was working on a bill to regulate cryptocurrencies.
- The bank’s governor, Abdellatif Jouahri, announced late last year that a draft law was ready, but it has not yet been adopted.
Regulations take shape in the MENA region
- Morocco is moving towards regulating cryptocurrencies, but the asset class remains banned in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and Algeria, with no immediate plans for future regulation in sight.
- However, given that countries in the region function under similar laws and regulations, it remains to be seen whether the UAE’s favorable regulatory environment will rub off on other African countries in the region.
