Saudi Arabia’s Central Bank has recently announced the appointment of Crypto chief Mohsen AlZahrani to oversee its virtual currency and assets program. The nation has so far taken a more cautious approach towards the use of digital assets, with officials being warned about their speculative nature.
According to the sources, the emergence of the United Arab Emirates as a global crypto hub has affected Riyadh to add more formal regulations on asset classes. Meanwhile, AlZahrani – a former managing director at Accenture, reports to Ziad Al Yousef, the deputy governor for development and technology at the Central Bank. They claimed to be a part of a team in Riyadh that is discussing upcoming regulations with some of the largest cryptocurrency companies in the world.
As part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plans to transform the nation’s capital city into a global hub, Saudi Arabia has been pressuring companies to expand their presence in Riyadh. The commercial centre of the Gulf, Dubai, has been directly impacted by this.
With the largest economy in the Middle East and a relatively wealthy populace, the kingdom is an important market for any company doing business in the area. The largest companies in the sector, such as Binance Holdings Ltd., have staffed their Saudi teams because they believe the country will have a sizable untapped market if the restrictions are relaxed.
Riyadh banned banks from processing cryptocurrency transactions in 2018, but there are still ways to trade. According to the sources, regional financial institutions have recently reiterated the restrictions in correspondence with clients. Meanwhile, the Saudi and UAE governments have been working together on a potential joint digital currency.
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