Crypto expert gets job as head of Saudi Arabia’s program for digital assets in the central bank

Crypto plays an important role in the vast economic landscape of Saudi Arabia.

Mohsen Al Zahrani, a former CEO of Accenture, has been selected by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) to spearhead its digital assets and digital currency development at the central bank.

The appointment of Al Zahrani is an indication of the Gulf state’s apparent ambitions in digital currencies, as the kingdom takes tentative steps toward adopting virtual assets, Bloomberg reported.

The growth of a global crypto center in the United Arab Emirates has spurred “some urgency” in the capital Riyadh to create more official guidelines for the asset class, sources said.

Al Zahrani will report to Ziad Al Yousef, the central bank’s deputy director for development and technology, according to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because the subject is confidential.

Crypto expert in collaboration with global companies

Al Zahrani and Al Yousef are members of a Riyadh-based team working with some of the world’s largest cryptocurrency firms on future laws.

Saudi Arabia is a major market for digital currencies due to its high level of crypto adoption and market penetration, indicating the region’s growth potential.

According to a survey conducted by cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin, around 3 million Saudi Arabians have become virtual currency investors who, as of May this year, either own or have traded bitcoin and related asset types in the past six months.

Bloomberg stated that SAMA representatives did not respond to calls for comment and that the kingdom has been pushing companies to increase their presence in the capital as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plans to transform Riyadh into a global crypto destination.

Saudi’s growing number of digital currency investors

“This has been a direct challenge for Dubai, the business hub of the Gulf,” according to the report, adding that the Saudi government has been working with the UAE for several years on a potential unified digital currency.

In July this year, Dubai revealed its plans to become one of the world’s top 10 cities in the metaverse economy, creating 40,000 virtual jobs and adding $4 billion to the city’s economy over the next five years.

In 2019, SAMA and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates jointly introduced the digital currency Aber. The cryptocurrency will be used for international transactions between the two countries and will be backed by their respective fiat currencies.

Meanwhile, some 51% of Saudi investors saw cryptocurrencies as the future of finance, while 44% said the asset class would provide greater long-term returns than traditional investment types.

Crypto total market cap at $951 billion on the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com

Featured image from CCN, chart from TradingView.com