on the crypto
If the Sierra Leone has decided to embark on the path of Blockchain and virtual uniforms, recognizing great potential for its economic development, Burundi has decided to go exactly the opposite way. The Gitega government, in fact, has just decided to ban all cryptocurrency negotiations on its territory, motivating the decision with the practical impossibility of offering protection to users in case of problems.
The reasons behind the decision
To better understand what is happening in the African country, we must refer to the words spoken by Alfred Nyobewumusi, director of the central bank's microfinance department, who said some citizens of Burundi lost money in negotiations in which virtual currencies were used, asking the central government for an intervention to try to see their rights restored. After noting that it was impossible to do so, the authorities decided to adopt a measure that sounds drastic, but also inevitable. As a result of this decision, Bitcoin and Altcoin are now considered illegal in the country.
What will happen now?
If the announcement can be practically considered official, however, it remains to be understood the extent of the measures against possible violators. Nyobewumusi himself, in an interview with Bujumbura, Burundi's most prosperous economic center, said that very strong measures could be taken against all those who do not respect this decision, but it is not yet known what they can be.
A blow to financial inclusion
The decision taken by Burundi sounds like a blow to attempts at financial inclusion who try to remedy the impossibility of a large number of Africans to have tools with which to manage their resources rationally.
At the same time, it should be noted that in this case, the usual accusations regarding the laundering of dirty capital were not what made the ostracism towards digital assets necessary, even though they are now a catchphrase with which cryptocurrencies must live together. This time it is the inadequacy of the available technology and the practical impossibility of protecting investors to force the authorities to hoist the white flag. Precisely for this reason what happened in Burundi should be viewed with great concern by that part of public opinion favorable to cryptocurrency precisely for the democratization potential that they promise in a money management system that currently tends to exclude billions of people in all parts of the world.
Damage to the economy
Burundi is a country poor in natural resources and landlocked. The main economic resource is agriculture, in particular the cultivation of coffee, which constitutes 90% of exports. However, there are deposits of gold and tungsten in the country which could allow good growth where production is supported by adequate financial instruments, which are currently lacking. A situation that prevents the formation of an entrepreneurial fabric capable of accelerating development. Exactly for this reason the adoption of Blockchain technology, as is already happening in Sierra Leone, could prove to be a fundamental card to play in this regard.
