Hassan Maishera
Cryptocurrency trading is currently banned in Tanzania. However, the central bank is working to reverse it after the president instructed them to get ready for cryptocurrency adoption in the country.
Tanzania’s central bank to lift the crypto ban
The Bank of Tanzania is in the process of reversing the ban it had earlier placed on cryptocurrency trading. The central bank banned cryptocurrency trading activities in 2019. However, it is working on reversing the ban after the president instructed them to be ready for crypto adoption.
In a Reuters report earlier today, Tanzania’s apex bank is working on directives from the federal government that would end the crypto ban put in place two years ago. This latest development comes after President Samia Suluhu Hassan urged the central bank to get ready for cryptocurrency adoption. In her speech, the president said cryptocurrencies are the future of the global financial system, and Tanzania has to be ready to embrace it so the citizens won’t be left out.
The favorable comments came following El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin as a legal tender. El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption has helped convince a few countries of Bitcoin’s potential, and they are now looking at it in a positive light.
Abdulmajid Nsekela, chairman of the Tanzania Bankers Association, is confident that the reversal of the cryptocurrency ban would be key to diversifying financial transactions in the country currently dominated by cash payments.
Cryptocurrency adoption has been huge in Africa
Africa remains one of the key players in the cryptocurrency market. Cryptocurrencies are designed to ensure everyone gets access to financial services, especially people living in the unbanked and underbanked regions of the world. Hence, the reason why cryptocurrencies have become popular in the continent.
Nigeria, the continent’s largest economy, was the second-largest Bitcoin market in the world after the United States. However, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s ban on crypto trading activities in February has affected its status. Regardless, Nigerians have turned to peer-to-peer trading platforms to gain access to Bitcoin and a host of other cryptocurrencies. The need to adopt cryptocurrencies is particularly strong in countries like Nigeria due to the rising inflation and the weakening of the Naira.
