According to a Bloomberg report on Friday, Bank of Tanzania Governor Florens Luoga announced plans to launch central bank digital currency (CBDCs) at the 20th Conference of Financial Institutions (COFI).
“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,” Florens Luoga, Bank of Tanzania’s Governor, commented.
In his statement, the governor said that the development of its CBDC was already in development and it will be backed by its native fiat currency, the shillings. Additionally, the central bank is also looking to expand research into digital currencies and strengthen the capacity of its team.
Luoga said that the move was inspired by Nigeria’s launch of its own CBDC, the eNaira, last month. The West African country is the second to officially have a CBDC after the Bahamas became the first in the world to launch its own last year.
Other than Nigeria, Ghana is the only other West African nation that’s close to launching a CBDC. Other central banks like the South African Reserve Bank and the Bank of Namibia have also indicated that they are still investigating the possibility of launching CBDCs.
Despite supporting central-banked digital currencies, the governor cautions Tanzanian citizens to remain wary of cryptocurrencies and continues to advise investing against them.
Tanzania has banned crypto trading since 2019 following a directive from the country’s central bank saying digital assets were not recognized by local law. However, the Bank of Tanzania is reportedly working on reversing the crypto ban following President Samia Suluhu Hassan asking the country’s central bank to prepare for cryptocurrencies in June.