• After the July 19 circular, it is illegal to engage in any cryptocurrency activities in Kuwait.
• Kuwait has joined Thailand, Indonesia, and Turkey to ban crypto activities.
• Violators are to face penalties as stipulated in Kuwait’s AML and terrorist financing laws.

Kuwait’s financial watchdog, the Central Markets Authority (CMA), issued a circular on July 19 declaring that all cryptocurrency activities including crypto investment, crypto payments, and crypto mining as described here were illegal in the Middle Eastern country.

The CMA also banned local regulators from granting licences to anyone attempting to “provide cryptocurrency services as a commercial business.”

Tough penalties for violators

The nation’s anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws carry harsh punishments, the financial regulator warned. The circular made it clear that “securities regulated by the Central Bank of Kuwait and other securities and financial instruments regulated by the Capital Markets Authority” are exempt from the prohibitions.

In addition to forbidding cryptocurrency-related activities within the nation, the Kuwaiti regulator informed clients of the dangers posed by cryptocurrencies. “They do not carry a legal status and are not issued or supported,” it declared.

Kuwait has joined the list of nations like Thailand, Indonesia, and Turkey that forbid accepting cryptocurrency payments.

Kuwait’s move to ban cryptocurrencies comes after the National Committee for Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism concluded its study that aimed at implementing Recommendation 15 of the International Requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). However, it is essential to note that the FATF does not mandate that nations outlaw cryptocurrency.