African Nation Burundi Bans Trading of Cryptocurrencies Jonathan Ganor 2019-09-05 05:12:43 501 views

Burundi Joins Short List of Countries with Draconian Regulations Against Bitcoin

As previously reported by Bloomberg, Burundi has begun to take action against Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. The central African nation claims to have decided to restrict the trading of Bitcoin, Ethereum and other digital currencies following a request from citizens. The official reason for the ban is because the Burundian government cannot protect its citizens from losses.

"Digital coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are now illegal in the country" & "Strong measures could be taken against all those who will not respect this decision" said Alfred Nyobewumusi, Director of micro-finance at the Bank of the Republic of Burundi

Regulatory Red-Tape

Burundi joins the short list of nations such as Afghanistan, Bolivia, Algeria, & Bangladesh that have taken legal action against cryptocurrencies. This refers to a ban on owning and or trading cryptocurrencies. China also has major restrictions on cryptocurrency mining and trading, although it does remain very popular in China.

Bureaucracy and government intervention via regulations is nothing new in the world of cryptocurrency. Facebook's Libra might not ever be released due to pressure from various governments. ICOs have also been widely banned and some face heavy scrutiny, such as the app Kik and its Kin Token.

It is extremely doubtful that this ban will have any impact whatsoever on Bitcoins value. The nation of Burundi has a population of only 10 Million inhabitants. It is also unlikely that this ban will stop anyone in Burundi from trading cryptocurrencies.

This ban shows one thing only: Government officials have no idea how Bitcoin & cryptocurrencies work.





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