PANews news on June 9th, according to The Reporter, Muluken Amare, the director of Ethiopia's Financial Intelligence Service (FIS), revealed at the Southeast African Anti-Money Laundering Organization (ESAAMLG) conference last week that the country is preparing a cryptocurrency regulatory framework, despite currently prohibiting virtual currency transactions. FIS has collaborated with the United Nations, Russia, and member states to train financial security experts in monitoring illegal crypto transactions. Amare emphasized that currently only Ethiopian birr is allowed for transactions, but they are addressing potential violations through technological, human, and skill-building efforts. He mentioned the need to study the scale of domestic crypto trading and noted that if legalized in the future, clear regulations would be necessary, while maintaining the ban would require improved law enforcement mechanisms.
The Ethiopian Central Bank revised its legislation months ago to explicitly prohibit virtual currencies while preserving the possibility of future legalization.
