Saudi Arabia’s central bank has appointed Mohsen AlZahrani, a former managing director at consultancy firm Accenture, to head its virtual assets and central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative, Bloomberg reported.

Fast facts
With the United Arab Emirates aiming to be a global crypto hub, Saudi Arabia is looking to have formal regulations for the asset class despite reservations regarding its speculative nature, according to unidentified sources Bloomberg quoted in its report.

AlZahrani reports to Ziad Bander Alyousef, Saudi Central Bank’s deputy governor for development and technology, and together with a team in Riyadh, they are engaging with some of the largest cryptocurrency companies on regulations, Bloomberg reported.

Binance Holdings Ltd. has hired people for Saudi Arabia, as it recognizes potential in the region if current restrictions are relaxed, the report said.

Saudi Arabian regulators had issued a statement in 2018 clarifying that cryptocurrency trading is illegal in the kingdom due to “their negative consequences and high risks on the traders as they are out of government supervision.”

Meanwhile, Emirati state Dubai announced in July its plans to be one of the top 10 cities globally in the metaverse economy, creating 40,000 virtual jobs and adding US$4 billion to the city’s economy in five years.

Already, crypto companies like Binance, FTX, Crypto.com and Bybit have received approvals to set up bases in Dubai.
Source: Forcast
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