President Samia Suluhu Prepares Tanzania for Cryptocurrency Adoption

Tanzania President, Samia Suluhu has urged the country’s Central Bank to prepare for cryptocurrency adoption.

In a speech made in Mwanza on 13 June, Suluhu said that the age of cryptocurrency is dawning and Tanzania could well pave the way for change.

Her speech followed days after El Salvador announced that it had adopted Bitcoin as a legal tender. Various nations across the world, including a number of South and Central American countries, have also expressed their readiness to adopt the use of Bitcoin officially.

According to President Suluhu, Tanzania’s Central Bank should begin the necessary preparations to adopt global attitudes towards banking, singling out cryptocurrencies as the future of finance.

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“We have witnessed the emergence of a new journey through the internet. The Central Bank should be ready for the changes and not be caught unprepared,” she said.

“I know that throughout the nation…they have not accepted or started using these routes. However, my call to the central bank is that you should start working on that development,” she added.

President Suluhu’s announcement marks the first time a country’s president, outside El Salvador, has openly acknowledged a serious acceptance of the digital currency.

Meanwhile, in Kenya, Bitcoin, alongside other cryptos is currently not regulated or recognized. But hopefully, this is set to change since as of June 2021, Kenya’s Central Bank commenced discussions with other global central banks regarding the possibilities of entering the digital currency space.

According to Patrick Njoroge, Central Bank’s Governor, the move is in response to mushrooming of private cryptocurrencies which have made the regulator feel left out, thus the urgent need to create its own space.

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That said, it is worth noting that Kenya’s potential for cryptocurrency is considerable. With a high mobile and internet penetration rate, banks and other financial institutions can leverage mobile apps, digital technology, and fintech partnerships to reach more consumers and create an inclusive economy.

It is time, for Kenya to take its first steps towards creating cryptocurrency laws by publishing a framework proposal, like South Africa, and commit to supporting the development of the crypto economy. After all,  Kenya has the second-largest peer-to-peer traded volumes on the continent.