The Governor of Tanzania’s Central Bank Florens Luoga, has said the apex bank has kickstarted preparations for a central bank digital currency. He said the bank was doing this to ensure Tanzania is not left behind as other countries adopt digital currencies. The Bank of Tanzania (BOT) has started preparations for its digital currency to ensure the country is not left behind others in adopting central bank digital currencies (CBDC), a Bloomberg report has said.
The announcement follows reports that Zanzibar — an autonomous Tanzanian region off the coast of East Africa — is also keen on adopting digital currencies. The move by the BOT, which was confirmed by governor Florens Luoga, also comes almost a month after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) became the first central bank on the continent to launch a CBDC.
Explaining why the BOT is now eager to launch its CBDC, Luoga is quoted highlighting the importance of not being left behind, saying:To ensure that our country is not left behind the adoption of central bank digital currencies, the Bank of Tanzania has already begun preparations to have its own CBDC.
As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, the Bank of Ghana is the only other West African central bank that said it is close to launching its CBDC. Other central banks like the South African Reserve Bank and the Bank of Namibia have indicated they are still investigating the possibility of launching CBDCs.
Shortly after taking over the presidency, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan asked the country’s central bank to prepare for cryptocurrencies. A few weeks after President Hassan’s speech, a spokesperson for BOT confirmed the bank was heeding the call and hinted at a possible reversal of a ban on cryptocurrencies.
Yet despite the seeming relaxation of the anti-crypto rhetoric, a report said authorities in the country still want Tanzanians to be cautious when dealing with crypto-related investments.