The Kenyan Parliament has given the national treasury cabinet a period of two weeks to decide whether cryptocurrencies should be recognized as a form of legal tender.
According to a report by BitcoinAfrica, the secretary for Kenya’s National Treasury, Henry Rotich, was recently queried by the parliament as to why residents were allowed to trade in cryptocurrencies despite the lack of regulations and proper license or taxation by the Finance and National Planning Committee.
Bitcoin Africa quoted the committee chairman, Joseph Limo, as saying:
“We are surprised to hear that even the CBK 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.”
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In response, Rotich dismissed cryptocurrencies, describing the assets as unstable. He further noted that the government hasn’t yet decided whether cryptocurrency trading will be allowed and that discussions regarding the nascent technology were still ongoing, according to the report.
BusinessDaily further cites Rotich as saying:
“I am not aware of people operating locally. But I will endeavor to find out whether we have local exchangers. The issue of cryptocurrencies is evolving and we can take a position as a country. This is a delicate balance between supporting innovation and killing it.”
The news comes shortly after the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) issued a warning to the public and local banks on the risks associated with cryptocurrency investments.
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