Crunch time for Kenya on cryptocurrencies, treasury given two weeks to sort position
The Kenyan treasury has been given a two week deadline to determine a position on cryptocurrency trading…
Kenya’s treasury secretary, Henry Rotich, has been given two weeks by the country’s Parliament to sort out the nation’s approach to cryptocurrencies.
The Finance and National Planning Committee of Kenya wanted to know of Rotich why trade was taking place in cryptocurrencies in the country. In particular, how people were allowed to do business in crypto without a licence, and with no regulation. It turns out that not even people who were supposed to be aware of cryptocurrency trades in Kenya had any idea what was really going on.
The chair of the aforementioned committee said that “we are surprised to hear that even the Central Bank of Kenya is not aware that there is a lounge at Kenyatta University, an ATM in town, and a hotel in Nyeri which trade in Bitcoins. There is a bigger problem in Kenya since people are trading billions in virtual space yet the Treasury has not licensed and taxed it like trade in M-Pesa and bank transactions”.
Rotich, for his part, has been dismissive of cryptocurrencies, although has noted that they are “evolving” and has agreed to determine a position to take.
He is now working to a two-week deadline to conclude whether cryptocurrencies should be allowed to be legally traded in Kenya or not. Expect more on this story in due course.
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