Zambia Plans To Finish Crypto-related Tests in June

Zambian Minister for Innovation, Science, and Technology Felix Mutati said his country eyes finishing the tests of real-world cryptocurrency usage by the end of June. 

In an interview with Reuters, Mutati noted Zambia needs digital infrastructure, including digital identities, before introducing cryptocurrencies. 

The Zambian central bank and securities regulator started the tests on February 19 as Mutati pointed out that his country seeks to balance safety and innovation, saying: “Our main goal in the area of cryptocurrency is to strike a balance between innovation in terms of digital payments … against citizens’ safety, particularly given that cryptocurrency is very volatile.” 

The Zambian minister underlined that the tests’ results would help in the formulation of the regulation. He also referred to an increasing appetite to invest in Zambia. 

Earlier in February, with the commencement of the tests, Mutati noted that cryptocurrencies are the future that the country seeks to engage in, affirming the importance of outlining a policy framework that supports this revolutionary technology, the Zambian ministry said in a press release. 

According to Mutati, the testing of the technology on regulating cryptocurrency will be upscaled in due course as part of deliberate measures to achieve an inclusive digital economy for Zambia.

Zambia eyes being an African technological hub by establishing appropriate digital infrastructure, luring investments in technology, and creating access, the minister pointed out. 

Some African countries are currently studying rolling out their central bank digital currencies (CBDC), recent of which was the Central African Republic. 

Despite being one of the fastest-growing crypto markets in the world, Africa’s crypto market is still the smallest in terms of crypto transactions reaching $20 billion per month in mid-2021, according to Chainalysis. Africa’s crypto market increased by more than 1,200% between July 2020 and June 2021, with Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, and Tanzania leading adoption.