How Moroccans Use Cryptocurrency for International Payments Despite the Ban

Written By Ryan Fulton Tagged As Morocco crypto payments cryptocurrency Morocco international remittances Morocco crypto underground economy Bank Al-Maghrib crypto ban

Since November 2017, the Central Bank of Morocco - Bank Al-Maghrib - has made it clear: cryptocurrency is illegal. Trading, buying, or using Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any other digital asset for payments is against the law. But if you walk through Casablanca’s souks, chat with students in Rabat, or listen to workers in Tangier, you’ll hear a different story. People are still using crypto - not for gambling or speculation, but to send money home, pay for goods from Europe, or pay freelancers abroad. And they’re doing it because the official system just doesn’t work for them.

Why the Ban Didn’t Stop Crypto

The ban came with big warnings: no consumer protection, no legal recourse if exchanges collapse, high risk of fraud, and potential links to money laundering. But for millions of Moroccans, the real problem wasn’t risk - it was access. Traditional banks make international transfers slow, expensive, and complicated. Wire transfers can cost up to 8% in fees. They take 3 to 7 days. And if you’re sending money to family in Spain, France, or Canada, you’re often forced to use unreliable intermediaries or overpriced services like Western Union.

Meanwhile, crypto works differently. All you need is a smartphone and internet. No bank account. No paperwork. No waiting. Send Bitcoin to a friend in Marseille? Done in minutes. Pay a designer in Berlin? Just scan a QR code. The transaction settles on a public ledger. No chargebacks. No reversals. No middlemen.

This isn’t theoretical. A 2025 report estimated that over $278 million in cryptocurrency transactions occurred in Morocco that year - all without official approval. By 2026, that number is expected to hit nearly $292 million. That’s not a glitch. It’s a response.

How It Actually Works: The Underground System

You won’t find crypto ATMs in Moroccan banks. You won’t see ads for Binance or Coinbase on TV. But you’ll find WhatsApp groups. Telegram channels. Local traders in coffee shops. People who buy crypto on peer-to-peer platforms like LocalBitcoins or Paxful using cash or mobile money.

Here’s how it typically works:

A worker in France sends dirhams to a trusted local trader in Casablanca via mobile payment apps like CMI or Orange Money.
The trader buys Bitcoin or USDT (Tether) on a global exchange using the dirhams.
The crypto is sent to the recipient’s wallet in Morocco - often a family member or small business owner.
The recipient sells the crypto back to another local trader for cash, or uses it directly to pay for imported goods.

No bank involvement. No central authority. Just trust, networks, and a shared understanding that this is how things get done.

Some use stablecoins like USDT because they’re pegged to the U.S. dollar. That avoids the wild price swings of Bitcoin. Others use Monero or Zcash for extra privacy - though that’s rarer. Most transactions are small: $50 to $500. Enough to cover rent, school fees, or medical bills.

Traders in a Casablanca coffee shop exchanging cash for USDT using QR codes in a secret crypto network.

The Real Reason It’s Growing: Diaspora and Trade

Morocco has over 5 million citizens living abroad - mostly in France, Spain, and Belgium. In 2024, remittances from these communities totaled over $10 billion. That’s more than 7% of Morocco’s entire GDP. Most of that money still flows through formal channels, but a growing slice is shifting to crypto.

Why? Because traditional remittance services charge an average of 7.2% in fees. Crypto transfers? Often under 1%. That’s life-changing money. Imagine sending $200 home. With Western Union, you pay $14.40. With crypto? Maybe $1.50. That $13 saved? It’s groceries. It’s medicine. It’s a new pair of shoes for your kid.

Small businesses are also switching. A rug seller in Fes can now accept crypto from a buyer in Germany. No more waiting for bank clearance. No more currency conversion fees. No more delays from import restrictions. They get paid faster. They keep more profit.

What the Government Is Doing - And Why

Bank Al-Maghrib isn’t ignoring this. It’s watching. And it’s building something else.

In 2025, the central bank announced it had finalized a draft law to legalize and regulate cryptocurrencies. Not to encourage them. But to control them. The goal? To bring crypto into the open - with licensing, KYC checks, and transaction limits - while still banning unregulated use.

At the same time, they’re working with the IMF and World Bank to launch a national digital currency - a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Unlike Bitcoin, this won’t be decentralized. It’ll be fully controlled by the Moroccan government. Think of it as digital dirhams, but faster, traceable, and designed for cross-border payments.

They’re even partnering with Egypt’s central bank. Why? Because North Africa needs a regional solution. If Morocco and Egypt both use CBDCs, sending money between them becomes instant, cheap, and secure. No crypto. No risk. Just state-backed digital money.

This isn’t a contradiction. It’s strategy. The government knows crypto isn’t going away. So they’re preparing to replace it with something they can control.

Moroccan central bank crushing crypto symbols with a digital dirham, while citizens secretly use crypto in alleys.

What Users Face: Risks Without Rights

Here’s the harsh truth: if you use crypto in Morocco, you’re on your own.

If a wallet gets hacked? No insurance. No recourse. If a trader disappears with your dirhams? No police investigation. No legal contract. If your transaction is flagged? Your bank account could be frozen. You could be fined. Or worse.

There are no laws protecting crypto users. No consumer rights. No dispute resolution. You’re trading in a legal grey zone - and you’re the only one responsible.

Yet people still do it. Because for many, the risk is worth it. The alternative - waiting weeks for a wire transfer, paying half your paycheck in fees - is worse.

The Future: Regulation or Revolution?

Morocco stands at a crossroads. On one side: a government pushing its own digital currency, designed to replace crypto entirely. On the other: millions of citizens already using crypto because it works - better than the system they’re told to use.

The draft law in 2025 suggests the government is ready to shift from outright ban to controlled access. But will people trust a state-run digital currency? Or will they stick with the decentralized, borderless, fast options they’ve already learned to use?

One thing is clear: the demand for fast, cheap international payments isn’t going away. Whether it’s through crypto, CBDC, or something new, Moroccans will find a way. The question isn’t whether they’ll use digital money. It’s whether the system will adapt - or keep trying to stop them.

There are 23 Comments

Sarah Hammon

I love how people just bypass broken systems when they have to. Morocco's crypto underground is basically a grassroots fintech revolution. No bank? No problem. Just use WhatsApp and a QR code. This is what innovation looks like when regulation fails the people.

Also, $13 saved on a $200 transfer? That's a week's groceries for someone. We talk about crypto as 'speculation' but for millions, it's survival.
iam jacob

lol at the government trying to ban crypto. like banning water because some people drink it too fast. people aren't stupid. they see the fees, the delays, the red tape. they pick the path of least resistance. duh.
Jesse Pals

This is wild but also beautiful 🤝 I mean imagine your cousin in France sending you dirhams via mobile app, you turn it into USDT, and boom - your mom gets cash in Rabat without a single bank telling her 'sorry, no international transfers today.'

It's not crypto, it's just… money being money again. No gatekeepers. No 7% fees. Just trust, networks, and a shared 'we got this' vibe. I’m lowkey inspired.
Diane Overwise

How quaint. A nation of hardworking people, forced into underground economies because their government prefers bureaucracy over basic human needs. How very… European. And yet, somehow, they’re still more efficient than Wall Street. Go figure.
Ann Liu

The data here is compelling. $278M in 2025, projected to reach $292M in 2026 - that’s not a glitch. It’s an economic signal. The central bank’s CBDC initiative is less about innovation and more about control. Crypto isn’t the problem; the lack of inclusive financial infrastructure is.
Jessica Beadle

The hypocrisy is staggering. The same institutions that preach 'financial inclusion' while charging 7.2% to send remittances are now scrambling to replace crypto with a state-controlled digital currency. It's not about safety. It's about sovereignty. And the people? They're just collateral damage in the bureaucracy's ego trip.
Tony Weaver

I'm not impressed. This is just 'crypto for the poor' dressed up as innovation. You don't solve systemic financial exclusion by enabling unregulated peer-to-peer networks. You solve it by reforming institutions. Also, USDT isn't 'stable' - it's a fiat-backed Ponzi with no audit transparency. This isn't progress. It's desperation.
Carol Lueneburg

This made me cry a little 😭 Imagine sending money to your sister and only losing $1.50 instead of $14. That’s not a transaction. That’s dignity.

People aren’t breaking rules - they’re rewriting them. And honestly? I hope Morocco’s CBDC learns from this. Let it be fast. Let it be cheap. Let it be *human*.
Brenda White

wait so if crypto is illegal how come theyre not arresting everyone? like are they just letting it slide? this is the most chaotic legal system i've ever heard of
Tobias Wriedt

This is why we can’t have nice things. People use crypto to avoid taxes. To fund illegal activity. To launder money. This isn’t 'grassroots innovation' - it’s a loophole epidemic. And now we’re supposed to applaud it? No. We need enforcement, not glorification.
sai nikhil

I admire how Moroccans turned a ban into a solution. In India, we face similar issues with cross-border payments. The system is slow. The fees are high. But instead of adapting, we wait for permission. Maybe it’s time we stopped waiting.
Sahithi Reddy

This is the real crypto revolution not the flashy NFTs and moon missions. Real people using tech to survive. No hype. Just need. And it works. That’s all that matters
George Hutchings

Simple truth: if the system doesn’t serve you, you build your own. Morocco’s crypto underground isn’t rebellious. It’s practical. And honestly? More ethical than charging 8% to send money home.
Henrique Lyma

The entire premise of this article is dangerously naive. You’re romanticizing a black market because it’s marginally cheaper than a state-sanctioned monopoly. That doesn’t make it sustainable. It makes it dangerous. And don’t get me started on USDT’s reserve transparency - or the fact that 90% of these 'transactions' are likely just people laundering dirhams through shell wallets. This isn’t innovation. It’s financial anarchy with a cute name.
Shreya Baid

The government’s CBDC is a trap disguised as progress. If they control the ledger, they control the people. Crypto’s power isn’t in speed - it’s in autonomy. Once you replace decentralization with a state-run digital dirham, you’ve just digitized oppression.
Christopher Hoar

ok but why is everyone so surprised? the ban was a joke from day one. if you outlaw something people need, they’ll find a way. the real story here is that morocco’s banking system is so broken that crypto became the only viable option. duh.
Sarah Zakareckis

The CBDC isn’t a replacement - it’s a containment strategy. The government knows crypto’s demand is real. So they’re building a controlled version to capture value, enforce KYC, and extract data. It’s not about financial inclusion. It’s about surveillance capitalism with a national flag.
Dionne van Diepenbeek

i just dont get why they dont just fix the banks instead of letting people risk everything on shady whatsapp traders. like, are they lazy or something? this feels like a failure of leadership
Jerry Panson

While the human impact is undeniable, the absence of legal frameworks creates systemic vulnerability. The Central Bank’s draft law is not an attempt at suppression - it is a necessary step toward integrating informal systems into the formal economy. Without regulation, this remains a house of cards.
Katrina Smith

so the government is banning crypto but also building its own digital currency? sounds like they want to be the only one who gets to print money. brilliant. just brilliant.
Anastasia Danavath

this is so cool like i wish my country did this 😍 imagine sending money to your mom and it just shows up in her phone like magic. no fees no waiting. i love it
anshika garg

There’s something deeply poetic about this. A people, denied access to their own financial sovereignty, building a parallel economy with nothing but trust and smartphones. It’s not about Bitcoin. It’s about reclaiming agency. The CBDC? It’s not a solution. It’s a coronation - of the state, over the soul of the citizen.
Bruce Doucette

Of course people use crypto. They’re desperate. But let’s not pretend this is noble. It’s risky. It’s chaotic. And it’s built on the backs of people who don’t know what a private key is. This isn’t revolution. It’s exploitation disguised as innovation.