KAMPALA- Government has called on Ugandans to be vigilant while dealing in cryptocurrencies since there is no guiding and principle in the trade.
“It’s true the Central bank issued a statement warning people. As government we expect everybody to be responsible and not just invest money in anything you are not sure of,” Bahati said.
The State Minister for Planning, David Bahati was responding to the matter raised by Masaka municipality MP, Mathias Mpunga who informed the House on Wednesday 21 that many Ugandans are investing their monies in cryptocurrency such as One coin among others yet there is no law in place to protect the users from this kind of trade.
Mpunga said that since there are no regulations the Ministry should come up with a bill otherwise the country could be headed for a time bomb.
Bahati added that we live in age of technology and it’s currently with a lot of opportunities and those who want to expand their financial muscle always embracing it.
Arua south MP, Odongo Otto who backed up Mpunga saying that the Minister’s statement is not satisfactory because he is in court because a company in the name of D9 has allegedly defrauded some people including MPs saying that the Minister should go beyond his explanation.
Recently the central bank issued a statement in the media warning People who have invested their savings in cryptocurrencies risk getting badly burned when the bubble bursts.
In May this year, President Museveni hit at Bank of Uganda governor Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile for being “dogmatic” and unwilling to adapt to new technology.
The two were speaking during the Africa Blockchain Conference which opened at Kampala Serena hotel on Wednesday. The conference, organized by the Blockchain Association of Uganda, was reviewing the role of blockchain technology in Africa’s transformation.
Beyond its application in cryptocurrency, blockchain is viewed as a revolutionary technology with the potential to change the way governments and institutions manage data as well as business.
Across the globe, governments and institutions are exploring possibilities of utilizing this technology beyond its current application in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. They are now looking into using this technology in management, insurance, payments, identity management, voting among others.