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Abdellatif Jouahri, the governor of Bank Al-Maghrib, commented on the Bitcoin controversy, during a press conference held by the end of the organization’s quarterly meeting for 2017.
Referring to the risks generated by «digital currencies» including Bitcoin, Mr. Jouahri explained that theoretically speaking ; Bitcoin «is not a currency». «A currency must meet three criteria : Being a means of payment, a store of value and a saving instrument and Bitcoin does not meet these criteria,» he said. Bank Al-Maghrib's Wali added, in this regard, that Bitcoin is more of a financial asset than a currency.
«It is a highly speculative and volatile instrument» that can contribute, in terms of its use, to reprehensible objectives such as the financing of terrorism, he warned.
While raising awareness regarding the risks associated with using virtual currencies as a way of paying, Jouahri called for an adequate framework to protect consumers.
Last November, BAM, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Moroccan Capital Market Authority (AMMC) warned in a joint statement Moroccans against the use of virtual currencies as a means of payment.
Virtual currency, also known as virtual money, is a type of unregulated, digital money, which is issued and usually controlled by its developers, and used and accepted among the members of a specific virtual community.
