The other side of the coin: Bitcoin’s short stint in Kenya
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Bitcoin has bitcoin money laundering law in kenya the past been lauded as one of the biggest inventions of the century. Recently, there has been a flurry of news reports on Bitcoin with Safaricom being tussled in a court case against two companies linked to Bitcoin and the Central Bank of Kenya CBK refusing to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender. But what is Bitcoin? The website further states that Bitcoin is open-source; that its design is public, that nobody owns or controls Bitcoin and that everyone can take part in Bitcoin.
It can, therefore, be argued that Bitcoin is both a digital asset and payment system. The virtual currency sector has seen many start ups bitcoin money laundering law in kenya Kenya centered around Bitcoin including Bitpesa which is a Bitcoin trading platform existing in various African countries including Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
Bitcoin money laundering law in kenya regulator went on to add that no protection existed to users in the event that the platform that exchanged or held the virtual currency failed or went out of business. Consequently, the public was advised to desist from transacting in Bitcoin and similar products. Industry players have argued that the regulator was probably more concerned with protecting existing markets and ensuring adherence to the anti-money laundering laws in Kenya.
Section 22 of the Central Bank of Kenya Act empowers the CBK with the sole right to issue notes and coins in Kenya which said notes and coins shall be legal tender in Kenya.
Safaricom had reportedly been accused by Lipisha Consortium and Bitpesa of suspending an agreement that allowed Bitpesa to be used as a payment method.
The High Court in this case has since ruled in favour of Safaricom. Among the hurdles that Bitcoin has encountered other than being shunned by the CBK include the fact that 1 there were very few merchants that were accepting Bitcoin as a mode of payment; and 2 the Bitcoin exchange rate was very volatile seeing as its exchange rate with conventional currency is determined by supply and demand. This ends up making the cost of exchanging Bitcoin into a currency like Kenya Shillings very high.
Reportedly, various countries have either banned, restricted or warned against the use of Bitcoin within their borders including Vietnam, India, China, Bangladesh, Iceland, Bolivia, Ecuador, Russia, Sweden and Thailand. Proposals have subsequently been made to have the Bitcoin system make key and strategic changes to its software code to avert any potential dangers that come with an overwhelmed system.
In its public notice, the CBK highlighted the fact that domestic and international money transfer services in Kenya are regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya Act and other legislation. In this regard, the CBK stated that no entity is currently licensed to offer money remittance services and products in Kenya using virtual currency such as Bitcoin.
The CBK seems to have carefully picked its words by simply stating that Bitcoin was unregulated. Perhaps both the regulator and the citizens at large will in due time warm up to Bitcoin money laundering law in kenya as they warmed up to M-Pesa which had also been faced with a lot of skepticism during its early days and technically was not regulated either. If Kenya is to remain the technology hub in these parts of the world then lawmakers will need to act fast by making laws in a bid to keep up with the every-day changing face of technology.
BitcoinWikipedia 3. BitcoinBitcoins 7. Virtual currency schemesEuropean Central bank Caution to the public on virtual currencies such bitcoin money laundering law in kenya bitcoinThe Central Bank of Kenya Banking Act, Chapter of the Laws of Kenya. What is legal tender? Other challenges faced by Bitcoin in Kenya Among the hurdles that Bitcoin has encountered other than being shunned by the CBK include the fact that 1 there were very few merchants that were accepting Bitcoin as a mode of payment; and 2 the Bitcoin exchange rate was very volatile seeing as its exchange rate with conventional currency is determined by supply and bitcoin money laundering law in kenya.
The future of Bitcoin the world over Reportedly, various countries have either banned, restricted or warned against the use of Bitcoin within their borders including Vietnam, India, China, Bangladesh, Iceland, Bolivia, Ecuador, Russia, Sweden and Thailand.
