On July 18, the prominent financial regulator of Kuwait, the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) made an announcement concerning the use of virtual assets within the country.
According the CMA’s announcement, major operations like mining, investments, payments and activities involving cryptocurrencies will be “absolutely prohibited.”
Furthermore, the announcement also indicates that local regulators are prohibited from issuing out any license which allows firms to offer virtual asset services as a commercial business.
Moreover, securities as well as other financial tools which are regulated by the CMA and Central Bank of Kuwait are not included in this latest ban announcement.
The Capital Markets Authority also warns customers to be careful and understand the risks which are related to virtual assets.
With major focus on cryptos, the regulator argued that these category of virtual assets “do not have any legal status” and are “not supported or issued.”
According to the regulatory, “the prices of cryptocurrencies are usually set by speculations, which exposes them to a volatile decline.”
On the other hand, CMA stated that Article 15 of Law No. 106 of 2013 embodies the penalties for those that violates Kuwait’s Anti-Money Laundering laws.
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Keys Points To Note
- The Kuwait Supervisory Authorities comprise the Central Bank of Kuwait, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Insurance Regulatory Unit, and the Capital Markets Authority.
- This new jurisdiction corresponds with the nation’s approaches to fight terrorist financing and money laundering.
- The CMA cited the summary of a survey conducted by the National Committee for Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism concerning the pledge to apply recommendation 15 by the FATF (Financial Action Task Force).
- Local reports confirmed that this crypto regulation by the CMA is related to the new inter-departmental cryptocurrency ban involving various supervisory bodies in Kuwait.
- Similar announcements have, reportedly, been publicized by the Insurance Regulatory Unit, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the Central Bank of Kuwait.
Could These Be Affecting Cryptocurrencies Today?
Cryptocurrencies are subject to several factors ranging from regulatory adjustments to macroeconomic activities. As such, here’s how some cryptocurrencies have reacted to Kuwait’s new ban announcement.
Today July 20, 2023, the price of Bitcoin dropped by 0.35% in the last 24 hours, at $29,830 272. Its market cap is also down by 0.35%, recording over $580 billion.
Also, XRP is down by 4.03% over the past 24 hours at $0.7991 with a 25.47% drop in trading volume during the past 24 hours, at $2.9 billion.
On the other hand, Ethereum is trading at $1,894 with a 0.3% increase in the past 24 hours. Its 24-hours trading volume is also up by 28% at $7.5 billion.
