Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies use are spreading rapidly in the Kingdom of Morocco on the blind side of the global Satoshi community. Professional crypto trader and developer, Aziz Elmi estimates that more than $200,000 of Bitcoin trading is done daily under the radar in his native Morocco.
Elmi is a leading member of the crypto community in his country with a huge following and the main developer of AtlasCoin, one of Africa's only two cryptocurrencies. He is positive Morocco has a lot to offer to the digital currency world.
Morocco's unwillingness to open up enough to the rest of the world may account for the silent revolution that is going on there. Some pundits think Morocco might be ahead of some of the countries in Africa. Morocco is perceived as leaders in Bitcoin adoption, like Kenya, Ghana and even Nigeria.
Secretive kingdom
According to Elmi, Moroccans use Bitcoin in cross-border trade, hyip, revshare, matrix (Zarfund) and forex trading. More so with the sudden rise of cloud mining sites, many Moroccans have injected considerable amounts of money in these investment ventures.
Elmi told Cointelegraph: "Every day thousands and thousands of dollars are traded in Morocco especially within social media groups like Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter. I have personally created several trading groups that are thriving with trading activities."
"Bitcoin demand in Morocco is getting higher day after day but it's still traded underground. Now many WhatsApp trading groups have emerged and one of the most powerful trading group is Neo Crypto Traders which includes many experienced crypto-traders."
In response to why Bitcoin is still traded unground in the North African Country which is not part of the African Union, Elmi had this to say: “We have to tread cautiously in this terrain here because we don't know the reaction of the government once it is traded publicly and nobody wants to be a scapegoat.”
Unmistakably, the Bitcoin industry in the Kingdom is shrouded in a quasi-secretive state and surrounded by fear. However, the Professional Crypto trader is uncertain whether the powers that be can intervene in the beautiful evolution taking place with a counterproductive directive:
“The Moroccan government has never tackled this issue. I think it's still new to Moroccan officials. We really do not know but I think this new domain offers interesting opportunities to jobless youngsters. Thus, officials will hopefully take a positive stance instead of standing as a hindrance to the swift growth of Bitcoin users. This is an outlet and a wonderful opportunity for the government to help people progress."
Altcoins on the way
There is the general confidence in the Moroccan cryptocurrency community that there is great potential in their IT arena, especially in cryptocurrency coding and trading. This combined with the huge investments they are making will advance the Kingdom to be at the forefront of adoption in Africa, if the government will regulate the sector fairly.
“More people and merchants are gradually integrating Bitcoin and other altcoins in their daily lives by accepting payments via Bitcoin. We believe the government should, therefore, intervene accordingly so as to regulate the circulation of Bitcoin reasonably," Elmi proposed.
Elmi has also mentioned that an altcoin exchange is in the pipeline as well. Imperative to note is traders will not pay any fees and the idea has gained hype among the community.