Zambia to complete testing of real-world crypto usage simulations by June – Government minister – Bitcoin News
Zambia is set to complete simulations of real-world crypto usage by the end of June, Felix Mutati, the country’s science and technology minister, has said. The Zambian minister said his country is seeking a balance between innovation and consumer protection.
Zambia needs to build digital infrastructure before introducing crypto
According to the Zambian Minister of Science and Technology, Felix Mutati, his country is set to complete tests simulating real-world use of cryptocurrency by the end of June. However, Mutati also argued that Zambia needs to focus on building a digital infrastructure including digital identities before introducing cryptocurrencies.
The latest comments from Mutati came almost two months after he first revealed that Zambia was testing technology to regulate cryptocurrencies. As reported by Bitcoin.com News in February, Mutati also hailed cryptocurrency, which he describes as a technology that encapsulates a future that Zambia wants.
Nevertheless, despite being the embodiment of a future that Zambia yearns for, crypto still poses risks to its users. According to Mutati, the Zambian government’s task now is to put in place regulations that have the right balance.
“Our main goal in cryptocurrency is to strike a balance between innovation in digital payments… [and] citizens’ safety, especially given that cryptocurrency is highly volatile. The central bank simulates it to see what would happen in the real world. The results will help us [in] the drafting of the regulation,” Mutati reportedly said.
Asked about the influx of investment into Zambia, Mutati, a former finance minister, claimed that more investors are showing increased appetite to invest in the southern African nation. The minister is also said to have addressed persistent concerns about the size of Chinese loans which topped $5.7 billion in 2022.
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