The Zambian central bank and the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission are in the process of testing technology to regulate cryptocurrencies, the country’s Minister of Technology and Science, Felix Mutati, recently said.
In his remarks published on the Ministry’s website, Mutati argued that Zambia needs to regulate this revolutionary technology because it encapsulates “the future the country desires to achieve.
Mutati also revealed that the testing of the regulatory technology will soon be upscaled as part of measures to help Zambia attain an inclusive digital economy. In addition, the Minister said Zambia, which is seeking to become the region’s technology hub, is already putting in place the infrastructure needed to help the country achieve such a goal.
While the Bank of Zambia has in the past discouraged the use of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, the remarks by Mutati suggest that President Hakainde Hichilema’s Government is embracing cryptos.
Meanwhile, the Minister also claimed that Zambia has established itself as an investment destination of choice for many investors.
Mutati said, “Zambia has created magnetism that attracts investments and it is one of the countries in Africa that is becoming a must-be place for investment.”
According to the Minister, once the envisioned digital payments infrastructure is in place, he foresees a future in which cryptocurrency is the driver for 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).