CBDC ‘may not be a compelling priority,’ says Kenya’s central bank

The Central Bank of Kenya has received feedback on a paper discussing the possibility of introducing a digital version of the Kenyan currency. The bank has not yet made a definitive decision and will continue to evaluate the situation. Over 100 comments were received from various stakeholders, including the public, commercial banks, and tech companies across multiple countries. These responses highlighted both the potential benefits and risks associated with a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The central bank stated that it will carefully monitor developments and adopt a cautious approach when considering the implementation of a digital version of the Kenyan currency in the future.

The central bank emphasized that in the short to medium term, the introduction of a CBDC may not be a top priority for Kenya. They acknowledged that existing innovative solutions within the current payment ecosystem could potentially effectively address the country’s payment challenges.

This statement from the central bank comes after the release of a discussion paper in February 2022. The bank also mentioned its collaboration with other central banks on CBDC proofs-of-concept but noted that the global interest in CBDCs is declining.

Kenya, being one of the largest economies in Africa, has experienced significant growth in crypto and blockchain adoption in recent years. The peer-to-peer platform Paxful is widely used by crypto enthusiasts in the country, and there are Bitcoin mining projects that contribute to providing power to rural communities.

source