The adoption of bitcoin as legal tender by some African countries is not a solution to their economic challenges, , director of IMF’s African department, has said.
He, therefore, cautioned against the practice.
But the the Central African Republic that is the latest in adopting bitcoin as legal tender has however disagreed.
Chief of Staff to President Faustin Archange Touadera of CAR, Obed Namsio said his country’s decision “places the Central African Republic on the map of the world’s boldest and most visionary countries.”
The IMF director who spoke on Thursday at a media briefing on the organisation’s economic outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa, said Bitcoin is not a remedy for the economic troubles in African countries.
His comment comes a day after the Central African Republic became the first country in Africa and second in the world after El Salvador to adopt bitcoin as a legal tender.
The director who is an Ethiopian, said the Central African Republic has just a 5.4 million inhabitants, and is one of the poorest, is a vulnerable country despite having natural resources.
Selassie criticised the move, saying, “it’s really important to not see such things as a panacea for economic challenges our countries face”.
“You have to make sure that the legislative framework, in terms of the transparency of financial flows, the governance framework around it is all robustly in place.”
