Tanzania looks at cryptos potential for its economy

The Central Bank of Tanzania is conducting a study to assess the extent of cryptocurrency impact on the Tanzanian economy.

The news was released through a circular believed to be from the Directorate of Economic Research and Policy at the Central Bank of Tanzania (BoT). The circular shows that the central bank is looking at the cryptocurrency industry, which might lead to the registration of brokers for the crypto space.

Part of the circular reads:

Please be informed that the Bank of Tanzania is conducting a study to assess the extent of Cryptocurrency and Online Forex Trading and its implication to the economy in Tanzania. The result of this survey will determine whether or not there is any need to register brokers for this business in the country.

To conduct the study, the Central bank, research assistant Nelson Rwehumbiza will visit various parts of the country. During this process, Rwehumbiza is expected to interview selected individuals with proper knowledge of the industry.

Like many governments, Tanzania has been looking into blockchain with hopes of having a better understanding of the technology. Last year, the Tanzanian government openly invited academic and researchers to help the country create “favourable” blockchain regulations. This was stated by Dr. Jim Yonazi, the Deputy Permanent Secretary Minister for Works, Transport, and Communications during the second Annual ICT [Information and Communications Technology] Professionals Conference 2018 in Dar Es Salaam. Yonazi stated:

“Although we (the government) can have a national blockchain committee, I also challenge you (experts) and universities to conduct thorough research on this technology to understand its potentials and challenges before full adoption.”

Tanzania decision comes weeks after the Republic of Rwanda announced it was looking into the possibility of issuing their cryptocurrency. According to reports, Rwanda is looking to see how it can use crypto to improve transaction processing and potentially boost the county’s economic growth.

Speaking to reporters, Peace Masozera Uwase, the Financial Stability Director-General of the National Bank of Rwanda (NBK), said:

There are still concerns about how exactly you convert the entire currency into digital form, how to distribute that and how fast can you process those transactions […] Challenges come in, if the technology is down, how do you deal with such issues?

Uwase concluded that Rwanda will join the crypto industry once they are ready.