Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania, is reportedly exploring ways to regulate and accept cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC).
The Zanzibar government plans to hold meetings with stakeholders such as banks and ministries to discuss guidelines related to the cryptocurrency industry. Prime Minister Modric Suraga announced the plans for the Tanzanian news agency The Citizen last Wednesday.
The move is part of a potential cryptocurrency adoption scheme, as Suraga previously met local cryptocurrency enthusiasts who assured him that Zanzibar must recognize and accept cryptocurrency as an official method of transactions in the midst of a total cryptocurrency market of over $ 3 trillion. The official is said to have said: “We look for opinions on this before we decide how viable it is.”
According to The Citizen, a lot of work needs to be done in Zanzibar before the judicial system can accept cryptocurrency. Therefore, according to Professor Haji Sembuja at Zanzibar State University, local authorities will need to put in place a policy that clearly articulates the goals and benefits of digital currency through the Bank of Tanzania.
Abdul Majid Nskila, president of the Tanzania Bankers Association, reportedly noted that Zanzibar has a lot to learn from growing technology. “We need to start learning from other countries how this technology works. For a cryptocurrency to be effective, we need cryptocurrency-specific guidelines. ”
This latest news from Zanzibar comes a few months after Tanzania’s President Samia Solo Hassan asked the country’s central bank in June to start exploring cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. The move came shortly after El Salvador passed its own bitcoin law in early June, eventually making the country the first in September to accept bitcoin as a legal tender.
Related topics: Zimbabwe may be the next country to accept Bitcoin as a legal tender
According to some industry figures such as Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, many countries will eventually follow in El Salvador’s footsteps by making bitcoin a national currency or using cryptocurrency for transactions such as central bank settlements. While Hoskinson did not elaborate on which countries are likely to be the first to follow El Salvador, it is likely to be a case of African countries where the African cryptocurrency market has grown more than 1200% in one year.
In early November, it became known that Hoskinson Input and Output Hong Kong (IOHK), Cardano’s research and development department, had held secret meetings with some Zanzibar officials. As previously reported, Africa has been one of IOHK’s key strategic directions over the years, and the organization has launched a number of initiatives in several African jurisdictions.
