Faith Nyasuguta
While the Central Africa Republic took a bold step months ago to legalise digital currency(Bitcoin), Ethiopia’s central bank has cautioned citizens against engaging in “illegal” transactions in digital currencies.
The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) said digital currencies like crypto-currencies and bitcoins haven’t been recognized by the institution as a transactional and payment method, state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate (FBC) reported.
“Ethiopia’s national currency is the Ethiopian Birr, with any financial transaction in Ethiopia to be paid in Birrs, according to the law,” the NBE said in a statement.
The central bank mentioned that digital currencies are being used to conduct informal financial transactions and money laundering schemes in Ethiopia, according to news portal Ethiopians today.
The NBE thus called on the public to refrain from trading in digital currencies and to report to authorities when they see such illegal transactions.
Two months ago, the Central African Republic became the first country in Africa to adopt Bitcoin as a payment currency in a bid to put the country’s plan for economic recovery and peacebuilding on track.
The minister of the digital economy, post services and telecommunications, Gourna Zacko, and the minister of finance and budget, Calixte Nganongo, initiated and submitted the draft law establishing both the legal framework for cryptocurrency regulation and Bitcoin as an official currency in the Central African Republic.
Currently, bitcoin has been on a losing streak as it dipped below $40,000, the midpoint of a three-month price range. Choppy trading conditions indicate uncertainty among traders, especially as macroeconomic and geopolitical risks linger.
