European Journal of Economic and Financial Research

ISSN: 2501-9430
ISSN-L: 2501-9430
Available on-line at: http://www.oapub.org/soc

DOI: 10.46827/ejefr.v6i2.1287 Volume 6 │ Issue 2 │ 2022

BLOCKCHAIN, CRYPTOCURRENCY AND THE

STATE OF FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN MOROCCO

Moghar Adil1i,
Oukili Asraoui Fadi2
1Dr., Abdelmalek Essaadi University,
Tetouan, Morocco
2Professor, Abdelmalek Essaadi University,

Tetouan, Morocco

Abstract:
The immense potential of Blockchain and crypto-currencies is no longer a matter of
doubt. These technologies have the power to revolutionize and change the landscape of
many sectors, primarily finance. The advent of blockchain technologies provides a
potential solution to the first three challenges of financial inclusion. In a few years,
blockchain and its applications have the potential to become the "beating heart" of the
global financial system as predicted by the WEF (World Economic Forum) in its report
"The Future of Financial Infrastructure". All over the world, these technologies are
currently considered as the new great technological revolution that could change our
lifestyles and impact our economy as the internet did in the 80s and 90s and ideally give
birth to a direct economy without intermediation. In Morocco, crypto-currencies are
erasing borders and gaining popularity. However, the general opinion on this new
innovation is not clear.

JEL: F65; G21; O32

Keywords: financial inclusion, blockchain, cryptocurrency

1. Introduction

Financial inclusion has become a major priority for a growing number of countries and
is becoming increasingly important. Many countries see financial inclusion as a major
economic and social challenge, as it helps to address poverty, exclusion and gender
disparities and promotes the economic and social well-being of people. Yet, in most
countries, many people face difficulties in accessing or using appropriate financial
products and services in the mainstream market.

i
Correspondence: email [email protected], [email protected]

Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved. 62

 Moghar Adil, Oukili Asraoui Fadi
BLOCKCHAIN, CRYPTOCURRENCY AND THE STATE OF FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN MOROCCO

The advent of blockchain technologies provides a potential solution to the first

three challenges of financial inclusion. In simple terms, the term blockchain refers to
distributed digital ledgers (Lacity, 2018b). These ledgers use consensus protocols to create
a single version of the truth. The recorded entries cannot be changed due to the
encryption protocols, making the digital ledger immutable. What is posted on the
blockchain can be considered as the unique and immutable truth. The first blockchain
ledger was implemented by Nakamoto (2008) to support the Bitcoin electronic money
system.
The advent of bitcoin has given impetus to other digital currencies like Ethereum
and DogeCoin, e-wallet companies like Coin Gecko, and digital currency exchange
platforms like Zaif and Mt Gox. This digital currency revolution presents a radical shift
from the traditional model of monetary exchange. Raskin et al. (2019) propose a typology
of digital currencies based on two axes, public versus private and centralized versus
decentralized.
Decentralized private currency like Bitcoin has no central group managing it and
no legal protection granted by governments. Centralized private currency is managed by
companies that control not only the issuance but also the maintenance. Decentralized
public money, like gold, is backed but not managed by sovereign states. Centralized
public money like state money is managed by sovereign states that control its use.
Raskin et al. (2019) conclude that decentralized private money has enormous
welfare implications for emerging markets as a form of investment diversification. This
is especially true for economies with high volatility and policies based on the interests of
the government rather than the welfare of its people (Raskin et al., 2019; Dyhrberg, 2016;
Chan et al., 2019).
In an Initial Coin Offerings (ICO), cryptocurrencies are sold in the form of tokens
that can be traded on the secondary market or used to exchange products and services.
Adhami et al. (2018) analyze 253 ICOs that took place between 2014 and 2017.
However, entrepreneurs may be tempted to issue more tokens post-ICO, thus
expropriating early token holders. Looking at 1500 ICOs that raised US$12.9 billion,
Howell et al. (2019) concludes that a digital currency with high disclosure, credible
engagement, and a quality signal tends to be better received by consumers. Similarly,
Roussou et al. (2018) find that the perceived safety and usefulness of a digital currency
are the main factors affecting its reception by consumers and businesses, while
compatibility with existing values and practices has an indirect effect on the adoption
rate.
A well-designed digital currency requires (1) a real-time clearing and settlement
system that allows consumers and businesses to transact efficiently, (2) safe and liquid
bank accounts that earn the same rate of return as short-term government securities, and
(3) a system of transfers between paper and digital money such that consumers and
businesses can use paper money if they wish (Bordo and Levin, 2019).
This article is a contextual literature review. Thus, this study aims to explore the
state of the art of crypto-currencies. It seeks to highlight the general opinion on digital

European Journal of Economic and Financial Research - Volume 6 │ Issue 2 │ 2022 63

 Moghar Adil, Oukili Asraoui Fadi
BLOCKCHAIN, CRYPTOCURRENCY AND THE STATE OF FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN MOROCCO

assets. The main motivation for this article is the absence of such exploratory studies in
Morocco.

2. Literature review

Financial exclusion is a widespread problem in emerging and developed economies,

preventing the poor and disadvantaged from accessing formal financial systems (Conroy,
2005).
The ubiquity of mobile connectivity and smartphone technology is opening up
new business opportunities. Accumulated digital information allows financial service
providers to profile each customer. This information goes beyond electronic payment
records and receipts to include other digital footprints such as mobile phone records and
social network traffic.
New financial intermediaries that do not accept traditional deposits and thus
escape regulatory oversight have also grown rapidly. Buchak et al. (2018) evaluated that
the market part in mortgage origination of these shadow banks improved from 30% in
2007 to 50% in 2015.
They find that legal and regulatory burdens can explain 60% of the growth of
shadow banks, while lending technology can explain another 30%. Stulz (2019), however,
is skeptical that traditional banks can be entirely replaced. Traditional banks have a large
and established consumer base, offer a wide range of products, have experience dealing
with regulators, and, most importantly, provide the essential service of deposit accounts
backed by deposit insurance.

3. Blockchain and crypto-currencies

3.1 How the blockchain works

Blockchain, also known as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), is a digital system that
records transactions on identical ledgers across thousands of computer network nodes
that are maintained by participants or miners. Transactions are time-stamped, grouped
into blocks and chained together over time to form a blockchain. The blockchain is secure
because each block builds on the previous one. To modify a past block, all blocks that
were created after that block must be modified. In addition, hackers will have to obtain
the private keys of the thousands of nodes in the blockchain network. Thus, blockchain
has the potential to displace any business activity that has low transparency and limited
traceability.

3.2 Two versions of the blockchain

There are two versions of blockchain. The first is the untrusted or unauthorized
blockchain, where anyone can access and update the ledger. The second is the trusted
blockchain or permissioned blockchain, where certain institutions or individuals have
direct access to the blockchain and are responsible for updating it. The credibility of the

European Journal of Economic and Financial Research - Volume 6 │ Issue 2 │ 2022 64

 Moghar Adil, Oukili Asraoui Fadi
BLOCKCHAIN, CRYPTOCURRENCY AND THE STATE OF FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN MOROCCO

permissioned system is preserved by economic incentives or legal enforcement (Chiu and

Koeppl, 2019).
In the untrusted or unauthorized system, miners solve "proof of work" or
computational problems that have nothing to do with economic transactions. The winner
of a "proof of work" competition gets a crypto-currency reward and the right to update
the blockchain. The miner attaches his "proof of work" to his block before sending it to
the network.
The value of the cryptocurrency depends on the credibility of the chain. Thus,
miners benefit by playing the longest chain rule. Miners choose the chain by observing
all previously resolved blocks to maximize their cumulative rewards. This "proof of
work" blockchain protocol was proposed by Nakamoto (2008) to avoid manipulation and
collusion. It guarantees that no single miner has control over the verification process.

3.3 Regulatory concerns regarding digital currencies

While digital currencies are relatively safe, transparent and fast, their rapid expansion
poses a threat to existing official currencies, sovereign currencies and central bank
monetary policies. Currencies like Ethereum and Libra are created by entities
independent of any political authority or commercial sponsor. These digital currencies,
therefore, have an autonomous dimension from fiat currencies run by central banks that
are subject to political or policy objectives (Raskin and Yermack, 2016). Some argue that
this autonomous feature serves as a check on the unilateral monopoly of central banks,
preventing the mismanagement of the money supply (Raskin and Yermack, 2016). For a
central bank, digital currencies are a source of concern (Hayek, 1976). They can lead to
deleveraging of commercial banks, reinvention of credit creation and relegation of
monetary policies.
A 2018 report by the European Central Bank warns that digital currencies pose
problems of fraud, issuer failure and speculative bubbles (Dabrowski and Janikowski,
2018). It recommends that jurisdictions harmonize regulations to reduce these
complications. The evidence shows that central banks have different responses, ranging
from prohibition to tolerance to participation in digital currency innovation. Most mature
economies have taken an intermediate position by allowing their use and taking a
benevolent attitude (Raskin, 2013).
Some countries have developed their own central bank digital currencies. China
recently announced plans to launch pilots for its digital currency as early as 2020 (Palmer
2019). Bordo and Levin (2019) believe that government-sponsored digital currency
enhances the stability and prudence of a financial system by providing the central bank
with an instrument that is scalable in supply and adjustable in interest rate.

3.4 Payments and financial inclusion

In the payments space, key disruptive trends include mobile payments or e-wallets,
billing platforms, bitcoin wallets, blockchain-based settlement networks, cross-border
crypto-currency payments, accelerated authentication of funds transfer and tracking, and

European Journal of Economic and Financial Research - Volume 6 │ Issue 2 │ 2022 65

 Moghar Adil, Oukili Asraoui Fadi
BLOCKCHAIN, CRYPTOCURRENCY AND THE STATE OF FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN MOROCCO

cloud-based payroll processing. These offerings make payment processes easier, faster
and more direct, bypassing currency laws and regulations in different countries.
Unlike cards, e-wallets do not require point-of-sale (POS) machines or disclosure
of bank account information. In 2017, the total value of transactions via e-wallets reached
US$350 billion worldwide. This is expected to reach US$1.6 trillion by 2022 (Agarwal et
al. 2019).
Of the 11 most valuable FinTech companies in the U.S. (Kauflin, 2019), seven are
in the payments space, namely Stripe (worth US$22.5 billion), Coinbase (worth US$8
billion), Ripple (worth US$5 billion), Circle (worth US$3 billion), Plaid (worth US$2.65
billion), Gusto (worth US$2 billion), and Zenefits (worth US$2 billion). They use fun,
social, low-cost and easy-to-use interfaces to appeal to young people while supporting
the unbanked and underbanked. Launched in 2011, Stripe builds software that allows
businesses to accept online payments. Coinbase and Ripple, both founded in 2012, apply
blockchain technology to facilitate the payment function. Coinbase is a digital currency
wallet and platform where consumers can transact with new digital currencies such as
Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin. Ripple offers blockchain-based settlement
for international transfers and real-time remittances.

3.5 Cryptocurrency in Morocco

Morocco has banned bitcoin and cryptocurrency transactions since 20 November 2017
(Office des Changes, 2017). The ban has met with no resistance, except from those who
have stakes in the crypto-currency space in one way or another. Any existing resistance
has gone unnoticed as it has been limited to a small virtual community since then. The
following is an example of how people feel about the government, "It has buried its head
in the sand by focusing on vague risks and hasn't measured the benefits we could gain from bitcoin
and blockchain technology to solve our country's thorny problems."
This statement is according to Badr Bellaj, a Moroccan blockchain consultant
(Jusdanis, 2017). According to the office of the Moroccan stock exchange, the reason why
Morocco has banned crypto-currencies is vaguely stated. It claims that this space needs
regulation and therefore the lack of it is a danger to people using crypto-currencies.
In addition, it urges people to comply with existing regulations and use accredited
financial intermediaries for all kinds of transactions and remittances (Office des Changes,
2017).
Nevertheless, a few months later, Brookstone Partners, an American e, announced
that it plans to build a mega wind farm project in the city of Dakhla (southern coast of
the Kingdom) to generate clean energy to mine crypto-currencies (Hirtenstein, 2018).
The firm's ambition does not seem to take into account local laws regarding
crypto-currencies within the Kingdom; otherwise, it may be an indication of ongoing
negotiations that the general public is not aware of. The main argument supporting the
legitimization of the ban for countries like Morocco is that cryptocurrencies could
challenge the local currency. Since they cannot control the crypto-currency space, it is
essential that they control what people use as a medium of exchange. Another argument
is that if people are allowed to use crypto-currencies, fund transfers could flow through

European Journal of Economic and Financial Research - Volume 6 │ Issue 2 │ 2022 66

 Moghar Adil, Oukili Asraoui Fadi
BLOCKCHAIN, CRYPTOCURRENCY AND THE STATE OF FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN MOROCCO

digital assets. If so, this could reduce the inflow of hard currencies, such as the euro and
the US dollar, into the country through the Central Bank of Morocco (Bank Al Maghrib),
consequently decreasing the country's foreign currency reserves. Nevertheless, if a
country bans crypto-currencies, it does not mean that its people cannot use them.
Cryptocurrencies, especially bitcoin, have survived for over a decade mainly because
they are resistant to control. No country in the world has the power to stop the
transactions, and the only possible way to stop them is to shut down the internet
worldwide.
Nevertheless, cryptocurrencies are still in their infancy and therefore do not pose
a threat to local currencies yet. As mentioned earlier, although crypto-currencies are
banned in Morocco, their use cannot be stopped. There is no practical way for a
government to enforce the ban as long as people have smartphones and internet access.
Anyone can be part of the public crypto-currency ledgers because no identification (ID)
or registration is required. The crypto-currency network is agnostic about whether you
are an animal or a human. It is a dumb network with fewer restrictions and unlimited
potential. Antonopoulos (2016) expands on this point by stating that, "Some networks are
'smart'. They offer sophisticated services that can be provided to very simple end-user devices at
the "edge" of the network. Other networks are "dumb" - they offer only a very basic service and
require end-user devices to be smart. The smart thing about dumb networks is that they push
innovation to the edge, giving end-users control over the pace and direction of innovation.
Simplicity at the center enables complexity at the periphery, which promotes the vast
decentralization of services."
Antonopoulos (2016) further provides an example of a smart network such as the
telephone network. No matter how much the landline telephone device improves, there
is always a restriction by the telephone cable network. Conversely, the Internet and
blockchain are dumb networks, and both have the potential to accommodate the
integration of any other layer of innovation. In general, cryptocurrencies and blockchain
technology are still in the experimental phase, so there is little literature on the subject,
especially studies that examine the effects of this innovation on society and culture.
Blockchain technology is less than 13 years old as of March 2021 (i.e., since the bitcoin
white paper was published in 2008). The main area of progress in this field is in computer
development, which is mostly technical. Risius (2017) notes the lack of attention from
researchers outside the fields of IT development as follows: "The amount of quantitative
research related to businesses beyond crypto-currencies is, however, extremely limited, and theory-
based empirical research on blockchain-related phenomena is generally scarce. On the one hand,
this may be due to the fact that blockchain technology is still relatively nascent in the hype cycle,
and it has taken a long time for researchers outside of computer science to realize the technology's
potential. On the other hand, it may be due to researchers' lack of knowledge about how to collect
data for meaningful quantitative analysis in a field that has long been dominated by technical
jargon and conceptual fuzziness."
This inattention to blockchain technology may also explain why crypto-currencies
are still speculative markets. Academia has yet to understand the rapid growth of the

European Journal of Economic and Financial Research - Volume 6 │ Issue 2 │ 2022 67

 Moghar Adil, Oukili Asraoui Fadi
BLOCKCHAIN, CRYPTOCURRENCY AND THE STATE OF FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN MOROCCO

technology and establish a sound theoretical framework for future research. The current
study offers a different perspective on this technology.
This is an exploratory study that attempts to file one of the many gaps in the
literature surrounding this new topic in a very narrow geographical context. Crypto-
currencies are unstoppable As of September 2020, 9 countries have banned
cryptocurrencies. These countries are Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Nepal,
Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam (Library of Congress, 2020).

3.6 Challenges to solving financial exclusion

To achieve financial inclusion, four key challenges must be overcome. The first key
challenge is geographical access (Varghese & Viswanathan, 2018). The second challenge
is cost. Challenge 3 is about the inadequacy of financial products and services. Finally,
the fourth challenge is about financial literacy.
The first problem is low eligibility for products such as formal loans (Banerjee,
2016). Due to the lack of bank accounts, collateral and financial history, the financially
excluded are disenfranchised as they do not meet the formal requirements of financial
institutions. While formal loans require fixed repayment plans and collateral, informal
loans offer more flexibility as they are based on trust and relationships. In light of
incidents in which banks miscalculate interest rates and impose repayments, the
financially excluded may fear formal products (Banerjee, 2016). These citizens might be
financially excluded despite physical access to banks and low costs because they are not
eligible or simply prefer informal solutions.

3.7 Opportunities for financial inclusion through blockchain-based solutions

3.7.1 Addressing challenge 1: Access
Challenge 1 is addressed by the fact that blockchain is digital technology. Therefore, a
financial solution based on the blockchain can be provided by mobile applications.

3.7.2 Addressing challenge 2: High cost

One of the main benefits of blockchain technology is its ability to eliminate the need for
intermediaries. Since the ledger is distributed among participants and governed by a
consensus protocol, third parties are not needed to facilitate transactions (Lacity, 2018).
This is an important lever to reduce transaction costs which are usually driven up
by third-party fees. On the other hand, blockchain-based transactions can be facilitated
with very low transaction fees. Blockchain implementations, such as Noahcoin, are
helping Filipino workers in Japan to transfer money at a much lower cost than traditional
banks. Another key factor is that blockchain reduces the time it takes to settle
transactions. While a traditional bank transaction can take several business days to settle
down, blockchain transactions can be settled in minutes, significantly reducing
settlement times (Baruri, 2016). This is significant because long settlement times could
discourage the acceptance of financial services when an immediate money transfer is
needed. Therefore, blockchain technology can significantly reduce the monetary and time
costs associated with conducting financial transactions.

European Journal of Economic and Financial Research - Volume 6 │ Issue 2 │ 2022 68

 Moghar Adil, Oukili Asraoui Fadi
BLOCKCHAIN, CRYPTOCURRENCY AND THE STATE OF FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN MOROCCO

3.7.3 Addressing challenge 3: Inadequate products and services

Blockchain-based solutions could offer more tailored products to customers in three
ways:
a) Digitization of existing practices,
b) Open up new possibilities for users.
First, as discussed, blockchain enables fast and cheap transactions without the
need for an intermediary. By replicating the direct and immediate nature of cash
transactions, blockchain-based solutions can support the informal, peer-to-peer nature of
current financial practices in Morocco. For example, they could discuss borrowing terms
with their relatives informally (i.e., flexible payment terms), but use a blockchain solution
to facilitate the transfer of funds. The familiar way of transacting will reduce uncertainty
and fear of technology, with the direct nature of blockchain-based transactions driving
the adoption of blockchain-based technologies for financial services.
Second, beyond digitizing existing practices, blockchain solves other problems. A
key problem for unbanked citizens is providing credit history and collateral to lenders.
Yet, because blockchain is an immutable ledger, it can serve as a reliable source of credit
history. If blockchain-based solutions were adopted, even for informal transactions, the
history of these transactions can provide evidence of creditworthiness. In addition, the
use of smart contracts, which refer to automated transaction protocols, can provide
safeguards for individual and institutional lenders, enforcing loan repayment once funds
are available. For these reasons, the social lending platform Kiva is introducing
blockchain technologies in an effort to help the financially excluded in Africa (O'Neal,
2018).
Finally, blockchain-based solutions would not be limited to national institutions.
The ledger is being distributed among all participants. This allows access to global
financial markets with a wider variety of products and services. In addition, the global
nature of blockchain allows for the leveraging of global product and labor markets.

3.8 Research gaps

The study’s on blockchain as a means to mitigate financial exclusion have not recognized
the standing of adoption. While some studies have recognized the potential of blockchain
as a grounding technology for upcoming financial inclusion initiatives (Larios-
Hernandez, 2017; Swan, 2017), these studies are conceptual and do not address the actual
application of a blockchain-based solution to the problem. Swan (2017) discusses the
opportunities and challenges of blockchain from the government's perspective, Larios-
Hernandez (2017) adopts the entrepreneurs' perspective and discusses the challenges of
designing a blockchain-based solution for rural Indians. Though, none of these studies
studied the adoption of a blockchain-based solution in Morocco.

4. Discussions and current context

Until recently, the situation in Morocco was not conducive to the emergence and
prosperity of this technology but the situation is tending to unblock. Last year was

European Journal of Economic and Financial Research - Volume 6 │ Issue 2 │ 2022 69

 Moghar Adil, Oukili Asraoui Fadi
BLOCKCHAIN, CRYPTOCURRENCY AND THE STATE OF FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN MOROCCO

marked by the publication issued by the foreign exchange office prohibiting the use of
cryptocurrencies. Although this statement is legally unfounded and targets
Cryptocurrencies, it has sent a negative signal to players in the blockchain industry and
several projects we were working on here in Morocco went into standby mode for fear
that the technology would also be banned, it seems illogical but it is a truth. However,
after a year, the situation has undergone a correction of trajectory. The governor of Bank
Al Maghrib, confirmed recently in a press conference, that he is no longer against
cryptocurrencies seeing that even the financial institutions that he takes as reference are
no longer. Also, he said that blockchain and cryptos are in the charter of digitization that
the bank is following for the next few years. This unlocking has brought its first fruits
quickly. Bank Al Maghrib, in collaboration with our company Mchain (a start-up that
acts in the field of blockchain since 2015 at the international level) and Microsoft, has set
up a blockchain project, for cash management, of national scope and the first of its kind
in Africa. The project will be presented at the "Blockchain Summit" conference to be held
on 21 November 2019.
In the same positive direction, the authorities have allowed an international
investor to set up a cryptocurrency mining project in southern Morocco. Also, the Digital
Development Agency (DDA) has included blockchain in its roadmap and has announced
funding to support research in this field. All these initiatives are on the right track and
show the willingness to seize the opportunities presented by blockchain technology and
fintech, in general, to promote the digital economy in Morocco.

5. Conclusion

Blockchain will have immense consequences for the financial system and the entire
economy. This revolution is pushing several countries like Singapore and the United
Arab Emirates (Dubai) to do everything to become the international center for the
development of Blockchain technologies. Other African countries have taken the step to
exploit these technologies, for example, Ghana uses blockchain as a land security system
(land registry management). The Nigerian customs are banking on Blockchain
technology for more efficiency and to fight fraud. Senegal on its side is more daring, as it
aims to create a national cryptocurrency. Morocco has all the ingredients (infrastructure,
human capital, technologies etc.) to succeed in the challenge and position itself as an
innovative country in the blockchain. We missed the internet revolution in its early stages
and we should not do the same for blockchain.

Conflict of Interest Statement

I certify that I have NO affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with
any financial interest (such as honoraria; educational grants; participation in speakers’
bureaus; membership, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, or other equity
interest; and expert testimony or patent-licensing arrangements), or non-financial interest
(such as personal or professional relationships, affiliations, knowledge or beliefs) in the
subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

European Journal of Economic and Financial Research - Volume 6 │ Issue 2 │ 2022 70

 Moghar Adil, Oukili Asraoui Fadi
BLOCKCHAIN, CRYPTOCURRENCY AND THE STATE OF FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN MOROCCO

About the Authors

Adil Moghar, doctor at University Abdelmalek Essadi, Tétouan, Morocco. Author of
many articles in several domains such as, artificial intelligence, portfolio optimization,
and finance and banking. ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Adil-
Moghar
Oukili Asraoui Fadi, Professor at University Abdelmalek Essadi, Tétouan, Morocco.
Author of a large number of articles in different domains, finance, human resources,
management marketing and generals economic. ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Oukili-Asraoui-Fadi

References

Adhami, Saman, Giancarlo Giudici, and Stefano Martinazzi (2018). Why Do Businesses
Go Crypto? An Empirical Analysis of Initial Coin Offerings. Journal of Economics
and Business 100: 64–75.
Agarwal, Sumit, Wenlan Qian, Bernard Y. Yeung, and Xin Zou (2019). Mobile Wallet and
Entrepreneurial Growth. American Economic Association Papers and Proceedings
109: 48–53.
Antonopoulos, A. (2016). Why Dumb Networks Are Better. Medium.
https://medium.com/@aantonop/why-dumb-networks-are-better-f0b94c271b76.
Banerjee, M. M. (2016). “We routinely borrow to survive”: Exploring the financial
capability of income-poor people in India. Social Work, 61(4), 349–358.
Baruri, P. (2016). Blockchain-powered financial inclusion. Retrieved from
http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/710961476811913780/Session-5C-Pani-Baruri-
BlockchainFinancial Inclusion-Pani.pdf
Bordo, Michael D., and Andrew T. Levin (2019). Digital Cash: Principles and Practical
Steps. NBER Working Paper #25455.
Buchak, Greg, Gregor Matvos, Tomasz Piskorski, and Amit Seru (2018). Fintech,
regulatory arbitrage, and the rise of shadow banks. Journal of Financial Economics
130 (3): 453–483.
Chan, Wing H., Minh Le, and W. Wu. Yan (2019). Holding Bitcoin Longer: The Dynamic
Hedging Abilities of Bitcoin. The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance 71:
107–113.
Chiu, Jonathan, and Thorsten V. Koeppl (2019). Blockchain-Based Settlement for Asset
Trading. Review of Financial Studies 32: 1716–1753.
Conroy, John (2005). APEC and Financial Exclusion: Missed Opportunities for Collective
Action? Asia-Pacific Development Journal 12 (1): 53–79.
Dabrowski, Marek, and Lukasz Janikowski (2018). Virtual Currencies and Central Banks
Monetary Policy: Challenges Ahead. Policy Department for Economic, Scientific
and Quality of Life Policies.
Dyhrberg, Anne H. (2016). Hedging Capabilities of Bitcoin. Is It the Virtual Gold? Finance
Research Letters 16: 139–144.

European Journal of Economic and Financial Research - Volume 6 │ Issue 2 │ 2022 71

 Moghar Adil, Oukili Asraoui Fadi
BLOCKCHAIN, CRYPTOCURRENCY AND THE STATE OF FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN MOROCCO

Hayek, Friedrich A. (1976). Denationalisation of Money: The Argument Refined. Institute

of Economic Affairs.
Hirtenstein, A. (2018). Bloomberg. Brookstone Partners is planning a 900 megawatt wind
farm in southern Morocco to power a data center and Bitcoin mining operation.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-27/bitcoinmining-private-
equity-build-wind-farm-in-morocco.
Howell, Sabrina, Marina Niessner, and David Yermack (2019). Initial Coin Offerings:
Financing Growth with Cryptocurrency Token Sales. European Corporate
Governance Institute Finance Working Paper 564: 1–71.
Jusdanis, A. (2017). Morocco’s Cryptocurrency ban will create serious “Technological
Divide,” warn traders. Morocco World News.
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/
Kauflin, Jeff (2019). The 11 Biggest Fintech Companies in America 2019. Forbes. Lee,
David K. C., and Gin Swee Teo. 2015. Emergence of FinTech and the LASIC
Principles. Journal of Financial Perspectives 3 (3): 24–36.
Lacity, M. C. (2018a). Enterprise blockchains: Eight sources of business value and the
obstacles in their way. Retrieved from
https://walton.uark.edu/enterprise/downloads/blockchain/LacityBlockchainsExpl
ained.pdf
Lacity, M. C. (2018). A manager’s guide to blockchains for business: From knowing what
to knowing how, SB Publishing, Warwickshire, UK.
Larios-Hernandez, G. J. (2017). Blockchain entrepreneurship opportunity in the practices
of the unbanked. Business Horizons, 60, 865–874.
Library of Congress (2020)
https://www.loc.gov/law/help/cryptocurrency/worldsurvey.php.
Nakamoto, S. (2008). Bitcoin: A peer-to-peer electronic cash system. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228640975_Bitcoin_A_Peer-to-
Peer_Electronic_Cash_System
Nakamoto, Satoshi (2008). Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. Bitcoin.
Accessed March 18, 2020. http://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf.
O’Neal, S. (2018). Ahead of traditional banking: How Africa employs blockchain for
financial inclusion. Retrieved from https://cointelegraph.com/news/ahead-of-
traditionalbanking-how-africa-employs-blockchain-for-financial-inclusion
Office des Changes (2017). Press release, Mise au point au sujet del’utilisation des
monnaies es virtuelle.
https://www.oc.gov.ma/fr/actualites/communique%3Fmise-au-point-au-sujet-de-
l-utilisation-des-monnaies-virtuelles.
Palmer, Daniel (2019). China’s Central Bank Likely to Pilot Digital Currency in Cities of
Shenzhen and Suzhou: Report. Coindesk. Accessed March 19, 2020.
https://www.coindesk.com/chinas-central-bank-likely-to-pilot-digitalcurrency-
in-cities-of-shenzhen-and-suzhou-report.
Raskin, Max (2013). U.S. Agencies to Say Bitcoins Offer Legitimate Benefits. Bloomberg
News.

European Journal of Economic and Financial Research - Volume 6 │ Issue 2 │ 2022 72

 Moghar Adil, Oukili Asraoui Fadi
BLOCKCHAIN, CRYPTOCURRENCY AND THE STATE OF FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN MOROCCO

Raskin, Max, and David Yermack (2016). Digital Currencies, Decentralized Ledgers, and
the Future of Central Banking. NBER Working Paper #22238.
Raskin, Max, Fahad Saleh, and David Yermack (2019). How Do Private Digital Currencies
Affect Government Policy? NBER Working Paper #26219.
Risius, M., & Spohrer, K. (2017). A Blockchain Research Framework: What We (Don’t)
Know, Where We Go from Here, and How We Will Get There Business &
Information. Systems Engineering, 59, 385–409. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599017-
0506-0.
Roussou, Ioanna, Emmanouil Stiakakis, and Angelo Sifaleras (2018). An Empirical Study
on the Commercial Adoption of Digital Currencies. Springer Nature 17: 223–259.
Stulz, René M. (2019). FinTech, BigTech and the Future of Banks. Journal of Applied
Corporate Finance 31: 86–97
Swan, M. (2017). Anticipating the economic benefits of blockchain. Technology
Innovation Management Review, 7(10), 6–13.
Varghese, G., & Viswanathan, L. (2018). Normative perspectives on financial inclusion:
Facts beyond statistics. Journal of Public Affairs, 18, 1–5.

European Journal of Economic and Financial Research - Volume 6 │ Issue 2 │ 2022 73

 Moghar Adil, Oukili Asraoui Fadi
BLOCKCHAIN, CRYPTOCURRENCY AND THE STATE OF FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN MOROCCO

Creative Commons licensing terms

Authors will retain copyright to their published articles agreeing that a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) terms will be
applied to their work. Under the terms of this license, no permission is required from the author(s) or publisher for members of the community to copy,
distribute, transmit or adapt the article content, providing a proper, prominent and unambiguous attribution to the authors in a manner that makes clear
that the materials are being reused under permission of a Creative Commons License. Views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this research article
are views, opinions and conclusions of the author(s).Open Access Publishing Group and European Journal of Economic and Financial Research shall not
be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability caused in relation to/arising out of conflict of interests, copyright violations and inappropriate
or inaccurate use of any kind content related or integrated on the research work. All the published works are meeting the Open Access Publishing
requirements and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

European Journal of Economic and Financial Research - Volume 6 │ Issue 2 │ 2022 74