Bahrain's government will soon adopt bitcoin

Officials announced that the Bahrainian government will soon adopt blockchain technologies.

Bahraini officials have recently announced that they are increasingly looking towards adopting digital currencies, such as bitcoin, and hope that their country will soon embrace the future of blockchain technology. The Kingdom of Bahrain is a constitutional monarchy which consists of over 30 islands situated in the Persian Gulf. If this region decides to embrace bitcoin and other blockchain technologies, this region could soon become the new hub of financial technology.

During an MIT Innovation Forum in the Bahraini capital of Manama last week, chief executive of Bahrain’s Economic Development Board (EDB), Khalid Al Rumaihi announced the country’s plans to implement bitcoin in its currency, as well as to establish a regulatory sandbox for digital currencies.

The EDB is a governmental agency created in order to plan and implement Bahrain’s economic development strategy. According to The Hindu Business Line, when asked about cryptocurrencies, Al Rumaihi responded that they were opens to bitcoins. Al Rumaihi also stated that Bahrain’s Finance Ministry, a governmental agency that acts as the country’s financial watchdog and regulator, was equally interested in adopting cryptocurrencies.

In addition, Al Rumaihi revealed that a bitcoin exchange operator, based in Saudi Arabia, looked into establishing a bitcoin exchange in Bahrain. However, according to Al Rumaihi, they will only work with the Central Bank of Bahrain to establish bitcoin exchanges in the country.

Al Rumaihi also revealed the scope as to which the country could adopt and utilize digital currencies. He suggested that Bahrain would even be able to issue bonds based on digital currencies. However, according to Al Rumaihi, all developments that occur in the private sector using digital currency would be regulated by a sandbox that will be put in place in conjunction with the Bahrainian Central Bank. This move of including a regulation policy could soon establish Bahrain as the FinTech capital of the world.

According to Al Rumaihi, many other countries, such as the United Kingdom and South Korea, have looked into releasing regulatory sandboxes. However, what sets Bahrain apart is that they’re no longer just talking and speculating, the application process is clearly outlined on the website. As Al Rumaihi states, they are "open for business."

CCN reports earlier in this year stated that Bahrain was getting ready to reveal grand plans which would target a systemic and nationwide adoption of blockchain technologies. Al Rumaihi stated that adopting blockchain technologies on a country-wide scale would be a major opportunity for Bahrain to establish itself as a world leader in financial technology.

Bahrain also recently signed a FinTech pact with Singapore, who is regarded as the current FinTech capital of the world. The Kingdom of Bahrain will be utilizing Singapore’s expertise in financial technologies to establish their very own FinTech system, complete with regulatory sandboxes and all.

As Bahrain moves towards embracing the future of digital currencies, many other financial experts continue to denounced them. One of these experts, JP Morgan chief executive, Jamie Dimon,  has repeatedly called bitcoin fraudulent and has vehemently and publicly spoken out against it on several occasions.