The House of Parliament of Kenya has asked the treasury secretary of the country, Henry Rotich to draft regulations for either legalizing cryptocurrency or banning it entirely. The country wants to find out ways to regulate cryptocurrencies so that the digital currency can fit into its working.
Although there is also a possibility that the Kenyan parliament may ban virtual currency but the urgency shown by the government authorities indicate that they are more in favor of welcoming the technology similar to the other African nations. It should be noted that the Kenyan city of Nyeri has developed into a new haven for trading cryptocurrencies.
Billions of people are trading digital assets without license in Kenya
According to a report, the Finance and National Planning Committee of Kenya has asked Rotich as to why the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and the Treasury are yet to establish any regulations for the crypto market and also for taxing the crypto investors. The committee has been disappointed with the unlicensed trading of cryptos in the country.
The chairperson of the committee, Joseph Limo said, “We are surprised to hear that even the CBK is not aware that there is a lounge at Kenyatta University, an ATM in town, and a hotel in Nyeri which trade in bitcoins.” He further added that the problem has grown bigger in the country as people are trading billions in the crypto world yet the Treasury has not issued any license or tax against them.
Government in dilemma regarding Bitcoin (BTC), says Roitch
According to Rotich due to the volatile nature of the flagship virtual currency Bitcoin (BTC), the government is in a dilemma whether it should take cryptocurrency seriously or not. Bitcoin surged to around $20 K in December last year but plummeted to around $8,500 in February 2018. Rotich added that the cryptosphere around the globe is still in its primary stage and slowly the world authorities are thinking of developing laws for balancing the virtual currency space and curb crypto crimes.
According to experts, the positive stance of Kenya towards Bitcoin can contribute to boosting its struggling economy. There are many who believe that African nations can liberate from the dominance of hegemony of the Western financial system with the help of cryptocurrencies.
