Morocco cracks down on crypto purchase; AI threatens polls

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Morocco is cracking down on citizens who have been using digital currency to purchase real estate in other countries, violating capital flight laws amid a surge in digital asset adoption.

In recent months, intensified inquests by the Moroccan Foreign Exchange Office found that Moroccans have been acquiring property in Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and a handful of other nations in breach of the country’s laws, according to local outlet Hespress. Citing sources within the Office, the outlet noted that the investigations are being led by the Monitoring and Oversight Department and were sparked by reports from international authorities on Moroccan financial crime and illegal capital flows.

Moroccan laws require citizens acquiring assets in other countries to use the regulated banking systems and obtain authorization from the Foreign Exchange Office, which reviews each case independently.

However, some Moroccans have found a workaround through digital assets, which operate outside the country’s financial laws. The Office found BTC and USDT to be the most popular tokens in this process, with the citizens relying on agencies that specialize in offshore real estate properties.

The Office is also cracking down on promotions that target Moroccan investors, advertising lucrative real estate opportunities in other countries. Reports say that these promoters offer multi-million-dollar investment opportunities, complete with marketing tours for investors. They accept payments via formal banking channels and digital assets; authorities allege that many who use the latter don’t apply for the required authorization from the Foreign Exchange Office.

Digital assets are a bold choice for Moroccan investors, not least because they are banned in the country. The Northern African nation outlawed digital assets in 2017 for fear that they could enhance money laundering and other illicit activities. The Foreign Exchange Office also claimed at the time that digital assets violated foreign exchange regulations.

However, the ban has done little to suppress adoption. A recent report by comparison platform HelloSafe found that 16% of Moroccans hold digital assets, equating to over 6 million holders. Since 2019—two years after the official ban—digital asset ownership has surged 60% in Morocco, outpacing adoption in strongholds such as Russia, Spain, the Philippines, Mexico and Vietnam. Only Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt recorded higher ownership rates in Africa; Egypt’s 138% adoption surge was the 13th highest globally.

This rise in adoption has pushed the Moroccan government to reconsider the ban. Last November, the country’s central bank, Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM), revealed it’s drafting a new legal framework that would legalize and regulate digital assets.

Morocco digitizes children’s health records

Beyond digital assets, Morocco is working on embracing a digital economy to enhance efficiency in public service, cut costs and provide more opportunities for its people. The latest initiative seeks to digitalize children’s health records.

The National Observatory for Children’s Rights (ONDE) recently announced that it had partnered with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection on the initiative. It aims to make access to healthcare easy and convenient for children, with the digital platform providing all the essential medical information about a child to the physician, including previous medical consultations and vaccination records.

While there was no mention of blockchain, the technology is becoming a popular choice to safeguard medical health records. Blockchain offers immutability, guaranteeing that the data remains unaltered, and since it’s decentralized, this data is owned by the patient and can be available to medical practitioners at will. Technology such as zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) allows patients to only share specific information while preserving privacy. VXPass stands out in this sector, using the BSV blockchain to reshape medical records and offer digital health sovereignty.

The digital health records align with Digital Morocco 2030, a roadmap by the Moroccan government to “devise digital solutions tailored to our country’s cultural and social particularities.” The roadmap places digital technology at the heart of Morocco’s economic development. It advocates for the digitalization of public services to reduce bureaucracy and boost access, as well as the development of a digital economy with the goal of creating 240,000 new jobs.

AI threatens Africa’s elections, peace: study

While AI poses serious risks to democratic elections in both Europe and Africa, the study found that its effects on the latter can be more devastating due to limited investments in election systems and a lack of research into AI effects.

In 2024, over a dozen African countries conducted presidential and parliamentary elections, including Senegal in March, South Africa in May, and Ghana in December. In South Africa, AI was widely used to target the country’s 26 million social media users with three primary objectives: supporting narratives, endorsing candidates, and for satire and ridicule, the study found.

“Artificial intelligence poses a threat to democratic principles, so checks and balances are urgently needed to ensure the benefits outweigh the harms. I’m afraid that untamed technology could turn Africa into the scene of a global arms race in AI-driven disinformation,” commented Karen Allen, one of the two lead researchers for the study, based in South Africa.

Last year’s South African election was the first in which the African National Congress, which has ruled the country since independence, failed to secure a majority in parliament. AI is believed to have played a sizable role in the shifting political landscape.

Beyond elections, AI-powered disinformation and misinformation has targeted conflict areas to fan the clashes by spreading hate speech through deepfake videos, the report found.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has been locked in a civil war pitting the government forces against the M23 paramilitary group, which has claimed over 7,000 lives since January. This conflict has provided an ideal environment for AI disinformation and propaganda, with each faction using the technology to turn the public against the other, the study says. This includes deepfake videos and photos that depict DRC President Félix Tshisekedi as the chief warmonger.

“Artificial Intelligence is propelling disinformation into a new era – faster, cheaper, more widespread, and more convincing than ever before. Neither states, authorities, online platforms, nor tech companies are currently implementing effective countermeasures. What we’ve seen so far is just the tip of the iceberg – and a devilish promise for the future,” commented Christopher Nehring, the European lead on the study.

Blockchain offers one of the most effective tools to combat AI misinformation. Blockchain’s transparent and immutable ledger introduces the much-needed trust in AI, creating an audit trail that can verify AI usage and allow authorities to identify and penalize misuse.

In order for artificial intelligence (AI) to work right within the law and thrive in the face of growing challenges, it needs to integrate an enterprise blockchain system that ensures data input quality and ownership—allowing it to keep data safe while also guaranteeing the immutability of data. Check out CoinGeek’s coverage on this emerging tech to learn more why Enterprise blockchain will be the backbone of AI.

Watch: Demonstrating the potential of blockchain’s fusion with AI