Johannesburg - Bitcoin is slowly but surely winning over
its critics as it appears to be maturing into a legitimate asset class.
While it continues to try and prove itself, the
technology on which it is built— the blockchain, has long been identified as a
potentially game-changing platform on which to build financial services
products that promote inclusion and lower transactional cost.
Of late, the Reserve Bank of South Africa has joined the blockchain fan club by
running various experiments and declaring a willingness to emulate Tunisia by
launching a blockchain-based digital version of the South African rand.
Tunisia is currently the only African country that has
introduced a parallel virtual currency, - the eDinar, and Senegal is set to
follow suit later this year when it launches the eCFA.
Read also: MMM's Bitcoin comeback
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria has taken a
decidedly different stance towards virtual currency, having recently warned the
country's financial institutions and its citizens that bitcoin and other
cryptocurrencies are not legal tender.
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