South Africa’s central bank welcomes blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Rage Commentary : The Governor of the South African Central Bank welcomed blockchain and digital currency technology for the first time. A year ago, the central bank also issued an opinion letter to express its position. The South African market has not received much attention in the field of blockchain, but there are a few start-ups established around blockchain, and Barclays Bank South Africa has also established a blockchain project in South Africa. As Tanya Knowles, executive director of Strate Risk Solutions, a transaction settlement agency of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, said, the development of blockchain in South Africa needs to wait for a change in the attitude of the financial market. I believe that the statement of the central bank is the signal for the beginning of this change.

Translation: Annie_Xu

The Governor of the South African Central Bank has expressed for the first time that he is open to blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

At the Internet Security Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, Lesetja Kganyago, governor of the South African Central Bank, revealed that the South African Reserve Bank is exploring blockchain technology and hopes to discover innovative technologies from it.

Kganyago, who has been governor since 2014, said the central bank was exploring potential applications that could help banks "perform their tasks more efficiently".

Lesetja Kganyago

He said at the meeting:

"As a central bank, we welcome innovation, although regulators have different attitudes towards cryptocurrencies, etc. We are willing to explore the advantages and disadvantages of blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies."

The announcement shows the central bank’s interest in blockchain technology, having issued a position paper two years ago to express its stance on digital currency.

At the time, the central bank warned local consumers that there were certain risks in using digital currencies from the perspective of anti-money laundering and cybercrime. However, the opinion also pointed out that "it will not monitor, supervise, or regulate the risk investment environment."

On the other hand, South Africa’s private sector has made important contributions to the exploration, testing and deployment of blockchain technology.

Many South African banks have participated in Ethereum-based testing projects, and many startups have also explored use cases such as crowdfunding energy.