A report by the American Al-Monitor website stated that thousands of Jordanians are turning to cryptocurrencies, amid a great shortage of job opportunities, despite the ban and risks in the market for trading these currencies.
Some examples of Jordanian youth who trade in the cryptocurrency market were mentioned in the report, such as Ahmed Al Hindi, who works in the accountancy profession, saying that he has been spending hours in the evening trading since 2017, and aspires to make a profit in a country where the youth unemployment rate is 50% The overall rate is 24.8% annually, according to the World Bank.
The report indicated that about 129,000 Jordanians - mostly males - trade in digital currencies, according to a report issued last January by the cryptocurrency payment company TripleA.
The report quoted Al-Hindi as saying that he currently invests about 12 thousand dollars, and sometimes earns two thousand dollars over a period of months, and at other times he does not make anything, adding that there is a need for certain skills such as mastering the English language, following the news and trading about 500 different currencies.
However, the Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan, Adel Al-Sharkas, confirmed during the meeting of the Parliamentary Economy and Investment Committee at the end of last January that the Jordanian authorities continue to ban digital currencies for several reasons, most notably:
Protecting customers due to their lack of experience in this field
Currency depreciation due to exchange rate fluctuations
Possible losses from fraud, hacking and theft
The absence of a legal framework that guarantees the right to appeal to the judiciary
Fear of money laundering and terrorist organization financing.
Mufleh Akl, the former president of the Association of Banks in Jordan, said that investing in digital currencies is futile, "It is a game of gambling and despair due to the lack of profitable investment opportunities. We must educate young people that some companies commit fraud by investing in these currencies."
Jordan bans cryptocurrency trading
But the Jordanian authorities’ ban on trading in digital currencies did not prevent people from finding ways to buy them, and Jordanians who trade in digital currencies resort to intermediaries abroad or traditional methods such as paying in cash to the owner of the currency, which he transfers electronically to their accounts.
Blockchain technology expert Moaz Khalifa explained that Jordanian law does not criminalize dealing in digital currencies, but the Central Bank's directives to banks prevent them from dealing in these currencies.
For his part, financial analyst Mohammed Al-Srouji - who focuses on foreign exchange trading - said that the digital currency is a strongly bullish market, "I think that legislators in Jordan are following with caution and anticipation despite the apparent ban."
Al-Srouji described cryptocurrencies as a golden opportunity to enact laws and attract billions in investments to the country, noting that Jordan has an excellent technological infrastructure that must be invested in.
A research paper prepared by the Jordan Labor Watch Organization - a civil society organization - revealed in October 2021 that 140,000 workers lost their jobs due to the “Covid-19” epidemic in 2020, which exacerbated the economic crisis among young people in Jordan.
In turn, economic and social expert Hussam Ayesh says that Jordanians are looking for job opportunities and additional income, or to obtain quick wealth with minimal effort, and this reflects the technical capabilities of young people who have found alternatives to the lack of job opportunities in the private and public sectors.
Ayesh added that there is a large digital infrastructure, and some have opportunities to get thousands of dinars from activities that use this infrastructure, such as games on YouTube, as those who consider themselves unemployed are actually achieving great income through trading in these currencies, according to What the American Al-Monitor website reported.