The Saudi Arabian monetary authority SAMA, the country’s Central Bank announced that it used Blockchain technology to transfer funds to local banks.
An official SAMA statement said that the funds were part of the banks initiative to enhance its “capabilities to continue playing its role in providing credit facilities.” The exact amount transferred was not specified.
Middle East slowly warming up to Crypto
The move by the Saudi Arabian monetary authority SAMA is an indicator of how the Middle East is increasingly developing a Blockchain appetite. SAMA is one of the institutions fueling this demand because of the work it has done through Blockchain in terms of using Blockchain for remittances within the country as well as outside.
SAMA has been involved in projects that help further along the Blockchain cause. One such project is its 2018 partnership with UAE’s Central Bank to develop a digital currency that can be used for cross-border transactions between the two countries. SAMA recently made a statement that reflected on the bank’s recent and active involvement in the Blockchain space.
“SAMA is one of the pioneer central banks to experiment [with] Blockchain technology for money transfers, this move is one of the key innovative initiatives launched by SAMA in its program to enable and develop Fintech in the Kingdom.”
Central Banks and governments pushing adoption
SAMA’s open support for Blockchain is not an indication of the Middle East’s readiness to adopt the technology, but also an indicator that world governments and central banks are also beginning to get in on it. More and more governments, institutions and central banks getting involved in crypto only furthers the adoption cause, which is want the crypto community wants. However, we still do have central banks in jurisdictions such as India that are still reluctant to get in on the technology. Other central banks are further along in their Blockchain consciousness, as they plan and prepare their central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)
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