When Bitcoin was first introduced to the financial market, many economies were unaware of the potential that the digital asset had then. But over the years since its launch, the digital asset has been able to show its potential, prompting many countries to look into it. One of such countries is Kenya, which has made a somewhat surprising announcement regarding the leading digital asset.
According to several reports, the country’s central bank is looking into the adoption of Bitcoin as a means to help the deteriorating currency of the country. This good news is coming off the back of a recent update that the Central bank of Nigeria released where it said that trading crypto was prohibited across the country.
Kenyan Central Bank boss wants to use the asset to fight the declining currency
In the words of the governor of the central bank of Kenya, Patrick Njoroge, Bitcoin might be the solution to the increased devaluation of the currency of the country. In his words, this assertion was promoted by a recent action that was made through the International Monetary Fund. The devaluing of its currency came on the back of several actions that the IMF triggered.
With that, the bank has announced that it is ready to adopt Bitcoin as a legal means of exchange across the country. Regarding value, the Kenyan Shilling is nothing to write home about as the currency has undergone a massive loss in value over the past decade. Since 2010, the digital asset has seen significant losses against the US Dollars, losing about 50% in the process. Even with the blame on the International Monetary Fund for the recent decline in value of their currency, the coronavirus pandemic also triggered a further decline of the currency.
Despite all the issues faced in the past, the country has seen Bitcoin as the way to help the value of its currency. Even though no other country has chosen to adopt Bitcoin the way Kenya is planning to, the premier bank’s governor has said that Bitcoin could be how the country’s currency kicks back to life.
Njoroge says the adoption would trigger good things for the country
In his statement, Njoroge said that the decision to adopt Bitcoin had some tactical and logical backing as they have done a lot of research in the field. He noted that the International Monetary Fund has always complained that the currency has been overvalued in recent years. He also noted that Bitcoin would be the cure to everything that is happening as regards its economies.
Njoroge says he believes that if the country eventually adopts the leading digital asset, it would signal a good turn. They would be able to repay their debts, help their currency appreciate, and eventually stabilized their economy. Even though institutional investors entered the Bitcoin space a lot last year, the digital asset has yet to see any traditional bank’s backing across the globe.
In a recent interview with European Central Bank boss Christine Lagarde, she noted that banks could not adopt Bitcoin. However, Kenya could be the leader in this regard as other countries would want to start looking into what the country has seen. Even though Nigeria’s central bank has made the rules regarding crypto, they have been summoned by the Senate to explain the reasons for their actions.