The Central Bank of Morocco, Bank Al Maghrib, announced during its second quarterly in June 2022 that it will be introducing a cryptocurrency bill soon. Abdul Latif Al Jawhari, Governor of Central Bank of Morocco noted that the crypto CBDC committee created in February 2022 is putting in place an appropriate regulatory framework to combine innovation, tech and consumer protection.

He also noted that the crypto bill is being benchmarked against global experiences with IMF and World Bank. He also noted that this regulatory framework will also update the legislation on the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.

In March 2022, during a session with media He revealed that the Central Bank of Morocco had created a council headed by him to oversee the required regulations for both cryptocurrencies and CBDCs. He stated, “We are in discussions with the Central Banks of friendly nations such as Switzerland, Sweden, and France as well as international financial institutions such as the IMF and World Bank to learn from their expertise and experience.”

Despite the fact that the Moroccan government considers crypto illegal in the country, Morocco has the highest number of crypto owners within the Arab region, followed closely by Egypt. 2.38 percent of Moroccan population own crypto.

News spread in May 2022 that Central African President Faustin Archange Touadera was travelling to the UAE to oversee the launch the crypto mining company. This came after Central Africa affirmed Bitcoin as a legal tender in the country.

The website African Intelligence was the news platform that mentioned the President’s visit to UAE on May 12th 2022. LeMonde News platform stated that due to lack of infrastructure in Central African state, the mining company for Bitcoin would be located in Dubai.  Nothing else was reported on this, and no official comments were made on this by UAE officials. 

This comes at a time when VARA (Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority) in Dubai UAE, stated that it would be regulating crypto mining operations. Already a sovereign wealth fund in Abu Dhabi is building one of the world’s biggest crypto mining farms with strategic advisors, Roland Berger. 

In addition US Crusoe Energy, which mines Bitcoin using wasted natural gas expanded into the Middle East specifically Oman and UAE after it received investments from UAE Based Mubadala, sovereign Wealth Fund in Abu Dhabi and Oman investment Authority. The total investment received by Crusoe was 350 million. Crusoe as per an article in CoinDesk will initially open an office in Muscat Oman followed by an office in Abu Dhabi.

Shiran Ben Abderrazak, Co-founder and of Bift crypto entity has launched MONO the first NFT micro gallery in Tunisia. The first artist to showcase her art is Lebanese- Senegalese Linda Dounia Rebeiz,

MONO is located in the heart of Tunis, Tunisia. Open to all, it stands as a mysterious portal on a very busy, old and narrow street. Inspired by a science-fiction aesthetic from the 70s, its style makes any passer-by question its utility, as its functionality is rather clashing with the hustle and bustle of its area.

MONO is a window to the eccentric world of NFTs (Non Fungible Tokens). MONO invites artists from multiple mediums to exhibit their works on the screen, thereby allowing viewers to explore their artistic universe through the small portal. Through a disruptive cu-ration, the micro-gallery will be using the advantage of its location to provide to a large audience access to digital art, make it curious and trigger conversations and debates around the evolution of digital art and its accessibility.

For Mono’s opening, Senegalese-Lebanese artist, Linda Dounia Rebeiz, is exhibiting a generative piece called Bauhaus’ Puzzle. She layers AI-generated acrylic paint footage with vector-designed Bauhaus-inspired grids, as an attempt to question the grid system as a foundational image-making instrument.

Linda Dounia Rebeiz is a multidisciplinary artist, writer and curator, based in Dakar. Her work focuses on the social construction of power and the cultural implications of how it is distributed. She has exhibited work at the Tezos show at Art Basel Miami, Art X Lagos, Fort NFT Gallery, and The Museum of Newfangled Art. Her work has appeared in Vogue Singapore, Nataal, and The Art Newspaper.