China was one of the world’s crypto mining and investment hubs for a long time. However, things are changing fast. In recent months, the Chinese government has taken steps to curb cryptocurrency-related activities in the country. As a result, those associated with the crypto market are on the move to other countries, one of which is the country of Iraq. Even though the attitude of the Iraqi authorities in recent years towards cryptocurrencies has been negative, to say the least, Iraq still holds a lot of promise.
The increasing popularity of crypto in Iraq is all down to the lack of access to banking services. Millions of Iraqis, especially the ones living in the country’s rural towns and villages, are slowly but surely turning to crypto to connect to the global economy. Despite being a high-risk market, crypto is attracting a lot of heat in Iraq, and not just from the ones without banking services. Those who have easy access to the country’s banks are going down the crypto route as well.
However, despite crypto’s growing popularity in Iraq, there are certain present-day limitations that could have a say regarding how much of a home Iraq turns out to be for crypto. For instance, a lot of people across the country have been victims of crypto scams, which shows that cryptocurrencies are still not very well understood in Iraq. It has been mostly shunned by the politicians as well, which is due to a general lack of awareness regarding how crypto works.
If crypto is to grow in the country, more people like Abdurrahman Bapir are needed. Bapir launched the country’s first crypto brokerage firm Kurdcoin in 2017, and today, it caters to clients ranging in the thousands.