Tanzania's central bank says it is still considering the introduction of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) but will be a taking "phased, cautious and risk based approach" after identifying several challenges that could impact its implementation. According to a Jan. 14 public notice from The Bank of Tanzania, since its 2021 announcement about a possible CBDC rollout, the East African country formed a multidisciplinary technical team to explore the risks and benefits of CBDCs. The bank revealed its team has conducted research looking into different types of CBDCs, models for issuance and management and whether it could be token-based …

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is moving ahead with plans to upgrade the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) to be used on a wider range of goods and services. It is also maintaining harsh crypto restrictions that cripple the country’s fintech sector. The CBN branch controller Bariboloka Koyor spoke at a campaign aiming to “sensitize” businesses to the eNaira at a market in the country’s most populous city of Lagos on Monday, according to a report from Vanguard. Koyor stated: “Starting from next week, there is going to be an upgrade on the eNaira speed wallet app that …

A group of people who have claimed they refuse to take any of the COVID-19 vaccines — at a time when the number of cases around the world is at an all-time high — is reportedly looking for a cryptocurrency expert to join them in Africa. According to a Friday report from Vice, the group of anti-vaxxers is building a “community” off the coast of southeastern Africa and plans to hire private chefs, television presenters, and crypto experts. The company behind the group, Liberty Places, is a self-described real estate firm based out of the archipelago of Zanzibar. It has …

The Bank of Tanzania is reportedly planning to introduce a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, for the African nation after neighboring countries announced similar initiatives. According to a Friday Bloomberg report, Bank of Tanzania Governor Florens Luoga said on Nov. 25 that Tanzania was planning to follow Nigeria’s example in rolling out its own CBDC. Luoga reportedly said that the central bank had “already begun preparations” for a digital shilling, Tanzania’s currency since 1966. In preparing to launch a CBDC, the governor said Tanzania is also planning to expand research into digital currencies and strengthen the capacity of central …

Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous territory in the United Republic of Tanzania, is reportedly exploring ways to regulate and adopt cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). The government of Zanzibar is planning to conduct meetings with stakeholders like banks and ministries to discuss policies related to the cryptocurrency industry. Zanzibar Minister of State Mudrick Soraga announced the plans to Tanzanian news agency The Citizen on Nov. 10. The move is part of a potential plan to adopt crypto as Soraga previously met with local crypto enthusiasts who assured him that Zanzibar should recognize and adopt cryptocurrency as an official transaction method amid the total …

The African arm of the company behind the Ignis, Nxt and Ardor blockchains will be launching a multi-country tour to provide blockchain education in the public and private sectors. According to information provided to Cointelegraph, Jelurida Africa said it would begin a blockchain expedition starting with Tanzania’s self-governing state of Zanzibar on Oct. 23 before continuing on to Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania. The group aims to promote blockchain education with meetups in universities, financial institutions and public offices. The team of distributed ledger technology and smart contract experts said it plans to reach out to …

The Bank of Tanzania is reportedly working to overturn its ban on crypto amid favorable cryptocurrency comments made by the country’s president. According to Reuters, Tanzania’s central bank has begun working on directives from the country’s federal government that could see a reversal of its November 2019 crypto ban. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, president Hassan urged the central bank to begin exploring Bitcoin (BTC) and digital assets earlier this month. At the time, Hassan enjoined the Bank of Tanzania to keep up with the times, given the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies. These favorable comments on crypto came on the …

Tanzania appears to be the latest emerging economy poised to embrace Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto assets. On Monday, Tanzanian president Samia Suluhu Hassan urged the country’s central bank to begin exploring crypto assets. Hassan emphasized the increasing impact of digital assets on global finance, stating, “We have witnessed the emergence of a new journey through the internet.” She highlighted the lack of crypto adoption and development in the East African region, stating, “Throughout the region, including Tanzania, they have not accepted or started using these routes.” “My call to the Central Bank is that you should start working on that …

Charles Hoskinson, CEO of Cardano (ADA) developers IOHK, took to YouTube on July 25 for one of his regular ask-me-anything sessions. Among a wide range of topics covered, Hoskinson gave details about the status of a number of tenders aimed at making inroads into Africa. Can’t win ‘em all Hoskinson admitted that IOHK had been underbid on its primary tender, to facilitate a fertilizer voucher scheme for farmers with Ethiopia’s Agricultural Transformation Agency, or ATA. This was despite putting in what he felt was an incredibly low bid himself. “It was crazy because we thought the contract would cost $500,000 …

The Tanzanian government has openly invited academics and researchers to collaborate in producing “favorable” blockchain regulations, tabloid-style South African news outlet The Citizen reported Monday, Oct. 29. As part of a speech at the second Annual ICT [Information and Communications Technology] Professionals Conference 2018 in Dar Es Salaam, Dr. Jim Yonazi, the Deputy Permanent Secretary Minister for Works, Transport, and Communications, reached out to the industry for help divining new use cases for blockchain in order to gauge appropriate regulatory moves. “Although we (the government) can have a national blockchain committee, I also challenge you (experts) and universities to conduct …