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The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) publishes draft cryptocurrency regulations and starts off a consultative process on cryptocurrency platforms in the kingdom. A feedback on the drafts is expected by the last day of this year.
According to the Bahrain News Agency, the draft targets on the regulations for the operations of crypto-asset platforms. It aims to evolve a regulatory framework for the supervision and licensing of such services. In addition, the draft rules involve steps to safeguarding customers interests, cybersecurity risk management, and technology standards.
The executive director of banking supervision at the Central Bank of Bahrain, Khalid Hamad, said in a statement:
“This regulatory framework will address the demand from the market for these services and the need to also recognise this innovation in financial services. The CBB’s experience with the participants within the Regulatory Sandbox was insightful in shaping these rules.”
Bahrain
Bahrain has been working towards incorporating the cryptocurrency ecosystem as it believes that this might be crucial in helping the kingdom become a regional business and banking hub. In order to offer their full support, a regulatory sandbox has been launched that will enable financial institutions licensed by the CBB and other firms to “test their technology-based innovative solutions relevant to Fintech or the financial sector in general.”
Last September, the CEO of the Kingdom’s Economic Development Board, Khalid Al Rumaihi, announced that the kingdom was looking into cryptocurrency adoption and bitcoin exchanges have already approached them to set a shop there.
Also dipping their feet into the Blockchain technology, Bahrain’s electricity and water affairs minister, Dr. Abdulhussain Mirza, announced three months ago:
“Technologies such as blockchain take us a huge step forward in finding a secure way to facilitate transactions. Blockchain’s ability to protect user’s data is a true mark of progress, because it can be applied in different companies from different industries including cybersecurity.”
Read more: Cryptocurrency Trading Platform To Be Launched By One Of The Largest German Stock Exchange
