Tanzania central bank may rescind crypto ban after presidential endorsement

The Bank of Tanzania is reportedly working to overturn its ban on crypto amid favorable cryptocurrency comments made by the country’s president.

According to Reuters, Tanzania’s central bank has begun working on directives from the country’s federal government that could see a reversal of its November 2019 crypto ban.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, president Hassan urged the central bank to begin exploring Bitcoin (BTC) and digital assets earlier this month.

At the time, Hassan enjoined the Bank of Tanzania to keep up with the times, given the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies.

These favorable comments on crypto came on the heels of El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law and a wave of positive BTC sentiment across several nations in Latin America.

However, in Africa, crypto-related regulations beyond central bank bans are yet to emerge. Back in February, Nigeria’s central bank also prohibited financial institutions in the country from servicing crypto exchanges.

For Abdulmajid Nsekela, chairman of the Tanzania Bankers Association, the move could help to diversify financial transactions in the country that are currently dominated by cash payments.

Related: Tanzanian president urges central bank to prepare for crypto

Nsekela also echoed the president’s comments about the Bank of Tanzania needing to become better acquainted with the crypto market, adding, “The most challenging element for regulators is to be caught by surprise by innovations.”

According to data from Useful Tulips — a platform that tracks peer-to-peer BTC trading across the globe — Tanzania ranks seventh in peer-to-peer trading volume in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria still accounts for more than half of the region’s Bitcoin trading activity.

While clear-cut crypto regulations are yet to emerge on the continent, some nations are working toward floating central bank digital currencies. Indeed, the central banks of both Nigeria and Ghana have issued announcements to that effect in June.