Morocco prepares regulators for crypto oversight as legal framework takes shape

Morocco is shifting from a crypto ban to a fully regulated digital asset regime, training regulators on blockchain supervision as it finalises Draft Law 42.25 to license service providers, oversee tokens and embed strict AML rules.

Morocco is moving into a new phase of digital asset regulation, with authorities now training supervisors across the financial system ahead of the country’s first dedicated crypto-asset law. In early December, the Moroccan Capital Market Authority (AMMC) hosted a four-day seminar in Rabat focused on crypto-asset regulation and blockchain analysis, bringing together staff from the AMMC, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Interior Ministry, Bank Al-Maghrib and the National Financial Intelligence Authority (ANRF).

Organised in partnership with blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, the workshop combined theory and practical case studies. Participants examined the basics of blockchain, types of digital assets and supervisory models, while seeing demonstrations of investigative tools used to trace flows across public blockchains – capabilities seen as essential for tackling fraud, money laundering and sanctions evasion.

AMMC president Tarik Senhaji framed the training as a strategic investment in regulatory capacity, explicitly tying it to global standards such as FATF Recommendation 15, which requires countries to assess risks from new financial technologies and supervise virtual asset service providers (VASPs). The AMMC stressed that similar initiatives will follow to build a “secure and innovation-friendly” regulatory environment once the new law comes into force.

That law is Draft Bill 42.25, published by the Ministry of Economy and Finance in November. The proposal would establish a comprehensive framework for digital assets and decentralised finance, with four core goals: protecting investors, safeguarding market integrity and combating financial crime, supporting innovation, and maintaining financial stability. It defines digital assets as electronic representations of value or rights transferred via blockchain or distributed ledgers, and covers issuance, trading, custody and advisory services.

The draft assigns joint oversight roles to multiple regulators. The AMMC would license and monitor crypto-asset service providers and police market abuse, while Bank Al-Maghrib would regulate asset-referenced tokens such as stablecoins, ensuring they are fully backed by safe, liquid reserves and that redemption mechanisms are transparent. ANRF would lead on AML/CFT enforcement, including customer identification, 10-year record-keeping and suspicious transaction reporting. A national coordination committee bringing together AMMC, Bank Al-Maghrib, the insurance regulator ACAPS, the Treasury and the data protection authority CNDP is designed to keep policy implementation aligned across sectors.

Crucially, the regime does not lift Morocco’s long-standing ban on using crypto as a means of payment, nor does it cover central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), NFTs or mining. Instead, digital assets would be treated as regulated financial instruments handled by licensed intermediaries, in a model inspired by the EU’s MiCA framework.

Taken together, the training programme and the draft law signal a clear policy turn: Morocco is preparing to replace a blanket prohibition with a tightly controlled market in which regulators are technically equipped, VASPs are fully licensed and monitored, and crypto activity is integrated into the formal financial system rather than pushed to the shadows.