The National Bank of Rwanda (NBR) is reportedly considering the development and launch of a state-backed cryptocurrency.
Rwandan Digital Currency
According to a report by Bloomberg published on Aug. 22, the central bank is looking into the feasibility of launching a cryptocurrency that would make processing transactions more efficient in addition to boosting economic growth.
The report claims that the NBR intends to learn from the experience of Canada, Singapore and the Netherlands–other countries that have tested the use of blockchain technology backing a central bank digital currency.
Financial Stability Director-General Peace Masozera Uwase told Bloomberg in an interview,
There are still concerns about how exactly you convert the entire currency into digital form, how to distribute that and how fast can you process those transactions. Challenges come in, if technology is down how do you deal with such issues? “We will join in once we are ready.
Rwanda’s consideration of a digital currency comes just weeks after it was reported that China’s central bank digital currency is set for launch, despite the country’s negative stance towards bitcoin and cryptoassets.
However, the global attitude of central banks is gradually shifting towards the issuance of a digital currency, as existing financial systems seek to find ways to keep up with the fintech revolution being generated through crypto and blockchain.
