Saudia Arabia joins list of countries that say no to virtual currencies

Saudia Arabia joins a list of countries that includes China, Russia, Iceland and Vietnam that have an outright ban on or deprive digital currencies such as bitcoin of any support.

The government issued a warning on Sunday in a statement that reminded “the unauthorised virtual currencies are illegal inside the kingdom of Saudi Arabia”.

A standing comittee that comprised the Capital Market Authority (CMA), Ministry of Ministry of Interior membership, Ministry of Media, Ministry of Commerce and Investment and Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) strongly cautioned against trading in the virtual currencies “for their negative consequences and high risks on traders as they are out of government supervision.”

It reminded citizens and residents that trading bitcoins is forbidden in Saudia Arabia and there are no parties or individuals licensed for such practices.

Like other countries that are suspicious of the volatility of currencies such as bitcoin or its inherent decentralisation, the government advised citizens not to “drift after such illusion and get-rich scheme due to the high regulatory, security and market risks involved, not to mention signing of fictitious contracts and the transfer of funds to unknown recipients/entities/parties.”