Despite the governor of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Patrick Njoroge’s comments a few weeks ago at the end of January 2022 stating that the country’s position regarding cryptocurrency had not changed, it seems there has been some slight movement regarding the stance in recent days.

A report from Reuters recently stated that the financial institution has invited the public to provide their views on the potential introduction of a digital currency, thus highlighting an apparent shift from the original opposition that was once being shown.

Of course, there will be suggestions that it was always inevitable that a shift would happen as Kenya is one of the continent’s leaders in regard to the adoption rate of digital assets. Indeed, many have started to use digital currency as a form of payment for a variety of different things.

Crypto gambling within Kenya is one such activity that has managed to prosper and continue to attract many as it provides Kenyan gamblers with the opportunity to be able to enjoy a number of benefits. Whilst they are able to enjoy the traditional advantages that crypto can provide them with including greater protections and easier transactions, they have also been able to enjoy playing provably fair games that have meant they know they are safe whilst also enjoying a greater level of convenience and accessibility that technology has since allowed them to benefit from that once was not available.

According to figures that have been uncovered, it is understood that Kenyans have fully embraced cryptocurrency, with findings revealing that the country is ranked the African nation to have the highest percentage of its population that holds digital assets. Furthermore, that popularity is also expected to continue to grow in 2022, with Kenya believed to be the nation that leads the world’s peer-to-peer crypto market.

However, despite the fact that data suggests that Kenya had Africa’s second-largest peer-to-peer bitcoin traded volumes in 2021, Njoroge had suggested that the Central Bank of Kenya would not be rushing into any decisions about its stance, stating:

“I think we will be speaking more completely about this space, not just cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrency is one lever, one little area……so we will be speaking more completely about this in the near future but I guess in the medium term. So please be patient on that …. suffice to say that our position has not changed on any of those products.”

Even before this, the stance on cryptocurrency was rather strong by the institution as it had emerged that Kenyan banks were issuing a number of alerts to clients recently that told them to desist from the practice of trading cryptocurrencies.

Nonetheless, it would seem that the patience shown may provide some with reward, as it seems the stance has started to shift, albeit slightly.

The bank has highlighted a number of risks that they are concerned with in the past, including the potential of seeing acts such as money laundering increase, however it would also appear that they have now recognized that there may be some benefits, too, including the potential to reduce cross-border payments costs.

“The balance of risks and benefits of central bank digital currency will vary from one economy to another,” the bank said in a statement.

However, they did also mention that they would need all countries in the region to participate to help flatten “the multi-layered correspondent banking structure”.

Tanzania appears to have already made movements, although Kenya will not be able to do so until they get the views from the public, as is required when they look to make major decisions. Indeed, with crypto adoption levels extremely high within the country, it perhaps would be a view that many citizens would be more than happy to have their voices heard.