Zanzibar reportedly exploring ways to regulate and adopt crypto

The United Republic of Tanzania’s semi-autonomous territory, Zanzibar, is reportedly looking for ways to expand the adoption of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin under some regulations.

The authorities of the country are planning on arranging some meetings with stakeholders like ministries and banks to talk about policies related to the cryptocurrency industry. Mudrick Soraga, Zanzibar’s Minister of State, announced the plans on November 10 to a local news agency, The Citizen.

Amidst the crypto market hitting the $3 trillion mark, Soraga has already met with the country’s crypto enthusiast who convinced him that the country should recognize, regulate, and adopt cryptocurrencies as an official payment method. The official stated:

“We are seeking views on the matter before deciding whether it is viable or not.”

Zanzibar has a ton of work

As per The Citizen, there is a lot of work to be done for officials before Zanzibar adopts crypto officially. For example, the local government, with the help of the Bank of Tanzania, has to come up with various policies explaining the goals and advantages of adopting digital currencies.

As per the reports, Abdulmajid Nsekela, the chairman of the Tanzania Bankers Association, noted that Zanzibar is in its initial phase of learning about the technology and has a long way ahead. He added:

“We need to start drawing lessons from other countries on how this technology works. For cryptocurrency to be effective, we will need policies for cryptocurrency.”

In June, Samia Suluhu Hassan, the president of Tanzania, urged the central bank of the country to start exploring and working on the cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The actions followed the news about El Salvador passing its Bitcoin law in early June, after which it adopted BTC as the legal tender in September.

Many industry experts, including Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, believes that many countries, especially the one in their developing phase, will follow in the footsteps of El Salvador and make BTC their legal payment method.