Central Bank of Tanzania Should Strive for Crypto Adoption, Says the Country’s President

The president of Tanzania – Samia Suluhu Hassan – outlined the nation’s need for cryptocurrency adoption. She stressed out that the East African region still falls behind other, more advanced regions.

‘Do Not be Caught Unprepared’

In a recent announcement, the Tanzanian president – Samia Suluhu Hassan – highlighted the development of cryptocurrency usage and adoption in many countries. She reminded that the East African region, where Tanzania is located, is not as advanced as other areas and urged the financial chiefs to start working on that matter:

”I know that throughout the nation, including Tanzania, 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.”

President Hassan backed up the belief in cryptocurrencies as, in her opinion, they will shape the future of finance. The Central Bank of Tanzania must put its efforts in that direction and act as soon as possible:

”The Central Bank should be ready for the changes and not be caught unprepared.”

Bitcoin as a Financial Instrument

Speaking of the East African region, earlier this year, Kenya’s Central Bank announced its intentions to switch its base currency to Bitcoin. At the time, the financial executives of the country considered that this move would solve the problem with the depreciating Shilling, which has lost nearly 50% of its value compared to the US dollar since 2010.

Apart from the devastating consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, Patrick Njoroge – the Central Bank Governor – blamed the International Monetary Fund for weakening the national currency. He raised hopes that the primary digital asset could solve the financial issues of Kenya:

”Our decision to shift to Bitcoin is both tactical and logical. We are losing too much simply because someone at IMF woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Bitcoin will put an end to this.”

While many countries are only exploring the benefits of adopting Bitcoin, El Salvador became the first nation to accept it as a legal tender. On June 9th, 62 out of 84 officials went in favor of the decision. The move would mean that no one in the Latin American country would have the right to refuse BTC for payment. Many experts believe that other nations will follow El Salvador’s example.