Angola is among the African countries that allow the use of crypto assets, but with restrictions, in a list of 22 countries that also includes South Africa, Botswana, Ghana, Namibia, Nigeria and Zambia. Second interactive map available on the website of International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Cryptoassets are virtual assets protected by cryptography, a process that encodes messages and data, in order to make them more secure during communication. There are many types of cryptos on the market, such as cryptocurrencies, fungible tokens, stablecoins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized finance protocols (DeFi) and so on.
Typically, these assets run on a blockchain, the large decentralized database that was born with Bitcoin (BTC) in late 2008. In general, blockchains are not controlled by an authority, such as central banks and governments. Rules are defined and managed by codes, and transactions are confirmed and validated by users, called “nodes”.
Cameroon, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and the Republic of Congo have currently banned crypto assets, while Zimbabwe has instructed banks to suspend transaction processing and Liberia has ordered a crypto asset startup to cease operations. Guinea Conakry, Madagascar, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo have no data and the Central African Republic (CAR) is the only country on the African continent where the use of crypto assets is permitted by law.
BUT: IMF recommends African countries to regulate crypto-assets market
"Many people use crypto assets for commercial payments, but their volatility makes them unsuitable as a store of value“, warn the IMF specialists, noting that the “Authorities are also concerned that cryptocurrencies could be used to illegally move funds out of the region and to circumvent local regulations designed to prevent capital outflows.“. The widespread use of crypto-assets can also compromise the effectiveness of monetary policy, creating risks to financial and macroeconomic stability, they underline.
"The risks are much greater if a cryptocurrency is adopted as currency, as was the case this year in the Central African Republic. If the government were to hold or accept cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, it could put public finances at risk.“, underline the economists of the IMF.
It should be noted that the Central African Republic was the first country in Africa, and the second in the world after El Salvador, to designate Bitcoin as a legal tender. The decision, remember the technicians of the Fund, “generated a conflict between the country and the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) – the regional central bank that serves the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), of which the Central African Republic is a member – and violates the Treaty from CEMAC".
BEAC's banking supervisor, the Central African Banking Commission, has banned the use of crypto-assets for financial transactions at CEMAC
