AMMAN — Head of the
Lower House Economy and Investment Committee, Khair Abu Sa’ilik,
warned of the dangers of cryptocurrency trading, during a committee meeting
held on Sunday to discuss the
Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ)’s plan to launch
digital currency trading, saying the purpose is to caution and protect citizens
from any potential risk of fraud or blackmail.
اضافة اعلان
In the meeting,
attended by CBJ Governor Adel Sharkas, the lawmaker questioned the CBJ decision
to issue digital currency and to legalize trading on “forex” investment
platform, and urged media to intensify awareness campaigns against the risks of
cryptocurrency trading.
Sharkas had said
that CBJ was looking into the possibility of issuing an official digital
currency, noting that digital currency differs from virtual currencies and is
backed by the Jordanian dinar.
Sharkas said
Jordan was among a number of countries that have banned cryptocurrency trading,
including Egypt, Kuwait, Morocco, and China, adding that foremost among the
reasons for the ban were dealer protection for lack of experience, potential
currency value loss as a result of exchange rate fluctuations and the
possibility of fraud, piracy, hacking, and theft. Moreover, he said that there are terrorist
organizations that use Bitcoin to raise funds, and that the CBJ has issued many
warnings in this regard since 2014.
Sharkas said that
suspicious advertisements about virtual digital currencies have been monitored
and dealt with through the concerned authorities, assuring that Jordan has not
witnessed any money laundering incident related to virtual currencies.
Sharkas said “it
is possible that the CBJ would allow cryptocurrency trading in the future, but
only after enacting legislation as well as issuing instructions to ensure that
money laundering and funding of terrorist organizations are avoided.” He said
“Forex” investment platform is not subject to CBJ’s supervision, but under the
oversight of
Jordan Securities Commission (JSC).
Sharkas sought to assure
Jordanians of monetary stability, saying CBJ’s foreign currency reserves have
reached $18 billion, which covers the Kingdom’s purchase needs for nine months.
“This is considered high compared to world average,” he said, adding that
stability means confidence in Jordan’s economy.
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