According to reports, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has begun discussions with central banks in various countries to explore the possibility of entering the central bank’s digital currency field.
CBK President Dr. Patrick Njoroge told reporters during the Georgetown Digital Conference Fintech Week:
“We (CBK) are discussing with other global participants around the introduction of central bank digital currencies in various ways. Private cryptocurrencies are springing up like mushrooms. We already feel excluded and we need to create our own field.”
According to Dr. Njoroge, the Central Bank of Kenya needs to pay close attention to the “business opportunities” that private cryptocurrencies are competing for. Njoroge specifically mentioned that money laundering and financing of illegal activities are CBK’s main concerns. However, he does not seem to believe that the global trend is moving towards a truly cashless society. He describes the development trend of society as an environment that only tends to “use less cash”.
Dr. Njoroge clearly mentioned the ongoing global research on how CBDC is open to the public in principle. The global CBDC research seems to put the digital currency authorized by the central bank in an explicit competition with the decentralized cryptocurrency.
The president of CBK also expressed a rather dismissive view of Bitcoin (BTC), saying that Bitcoin is just a speculative tool. When he discovered that the underlying technology of Bitcoin was amazing, he believed that Bitcoin was still an invention that sought to solve problems.
With the rise of cryptocurrency trading in Africa, local crypto entrepreneurs in Africa are preparing for possible stronger regulation with cautious optimism. In September 2020, Stephany Zoo of Bitpesa, a Kenyan exchange, told Cointelegraph that although there is a risk of high-pressure stifling intervention, better integration with traditional financial infrastructure may also promote the development of the crypto sector.
