Zambia Tests Technology To Regulate Cryptocurrency – Government Minister – Bitcoin News

The Bank of Zambia and the country’s securities regulators are currently testing the technology to regulate cryptocurrencies, a Zambian prime minister has said. According to Felix Mutati, cryptocurrency is a revolutionary technology that embodies a future the country wants to achieve.

Achieve an inclusive digital economy

Zambia’s central bank and the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission are “testing” technology to regulate cryptocurrencies, the country’s Minister of Technology and Science, Felix Mutati, has said. In his remarks published on the ministry’s website, Mutati argued that Zambia must regulate this “revolutionary technology” because it encapsulates “the future the country wants to achieve”.

Mutati also revealed that testing of the regulation technology will soon be scaled up as part of measures to help Zambia achieve an “inclusive digital economy.” In addition, the minister said Zambia, which is seeking to become the region’s technology hub, already has in place the infrastructure needed to help the country achieve such a goal.

While the Bank of Zambia has previously discouraged the use of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, Mutati’s comments suggest that President Hakainde Hichilema’s government is embracing crypto.

Meanwhile, the minister also claimed that Zambia has established itself as an investment destination for many investors.

“Zambia has created magnetism that attracts investment and it is one of the countries in Africa that is becoming a must-be location for investment,” Mutati said.

Bringing Zambia’s economic exclusion gap

According to the minister, once the envisioned digital payment infrastructure is in place, he envisions a future where cryptocurrency is “the driver of financial inclusion.” as well as “the change maker for Zambia’s economy”.

In addition to using cryptocurrencies to advance the country’s financial inclusion agenda, Zambia hopes to achieve this through the yet-to-be-launched Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). As reported by Bitcoin.com News in February 2022, the Bank of Zambia began exploring the pros and cons of using a CBDC and was expected to complete this in the fourth quarter of last year.

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Terence Zimwara

Terence Zimwara is a Zimbabwean award-winning journalist, writer and author. He has written extensively about the economic problems in some African countries, as well as how digital currencies can provide Africans with an escape route.