Since 2017, Morocco has technically banned cryptocurrencies. The keyword here is “technically.” Because while the government made crypto transactions illegal—classifying them as breaches of exchange regulations enforced by the Exchange Office and Bank Al-Maghrib—nearly 6 million Moroccans decided to hold digital assets anyway by 2025. That's 16% of the population. Oops.
Nearly 6 million Moroccans ignored the crypto ban entirely—that's 16% of the population betting against their own government.
The ban didn't stop anyone. Morocco's highly connected youth jumped into the crypto market, drawn by easy access and speculative appeal. They traded Bitcoin and Tether. They bought real estate in Spain and the UAE using decentralized exchanges with minimal KYC requirements. Capital flew out of the country, bypassing the required Foreign Exchange Office authorization entirely. International partners eventually noticed the suspicious transactions and alerted Moroccan authorities.
Now the government is actually doing something about it. In December 2025, the Foreign Exchange Office deployed surveillance units and started issuing cease-and-desist notices to undeclared digital asset holders. They gave people 30 days to present supporting documents for transactions identified between March and August 2025. The violations? “Constitution of assets abroad in form of crypto assets.” Translation: you moved money out of Morocco without permission.
The crackdown comes as Morocco develops Bill 42-25, a draft law designed to regulate crypto assets instead of pretending they don't exist. The framework aligns with European MiCA regulation and G20 recommendations. Bank Al-Maghrib and the AMMC would jointly supervise the market, with help from the IMF and World Bank. The AMMC oversees and regulates foreign exchange trading activities as Morocco's Capital Markets Authority, positioning it to play a central role in the emerging crypto framework. The goal is transparency and compliance rules that actually work. Like traditional currency pairs in the foreign exchange market, crypto assets involve complex trading dynamics that require proper regulatory oversight. Similar to Tunisia's CMF oversight of forex markets, Morocco's approach demonstrates how regional authorities are adapting to digital asset challenges.
But until that framework gets implemented, crypto transactions remain illegal. The Foreign Exchange Office is tightening enforcement, and the authorities are clearly concerned about money laundering, illicit financing, and capital flight. There's also the issue of extreme volatility exposing users to heavy financial losses—especially the young demographic that jumped in headfirst.
BAM Governor Abdellatif Jouahri has outlined a cautious yet forward-looking approach. Morocco is closing the regulatory gap. Just slowly. Very slowly.
