African economies have been urged to embrace adoption of bitcoin to boost trade in the sub-regions.
According to the Convener and Executive Director of Africa Bitcoin Conference, Farida Nabourema, that would ease the cost of doing business considering its enormous benefits especially in transacting the payment of goods and services across borders in the sub-region.
Ms Nabourema disclosed this at the second edition of Africa Bitcoin Conference (ABC), held in Accra on Saturday.
The three-days conference organised by the Africa Bitcoin Community aimed to create awareness about the opportunities and benefits of bitcoin in the economic transformation of individuals and businesses while promoting its adoption in Africa.
It brought together more than 500 paticipants including policymakers, entrepreneurs, industry players and businessmen from across the globe to explore and share innovative ideas on the development and perspectives of bitcoin in shaping the future of finance on the African continent.
The convener said though many people have adopted the use of bitcoin, there were still scores of Africans who were still not aware about the role of bitcoin on the digital economy.
She, therefore, advised Africans to embrace the digital currency considering its advantages in an era where businesses could be transacted in real time regardless of geographical location.
“The beautiful thing about bitcoin is that it is a bottom up technology, it is not a top bottom technology, and the adoption of bitcoin has been genuine at all levels. People have adopted it because it has worked for them. Bitcoin is an open source technology that cannot be shut down, it is technology that does not belong to anybody, it cannot be confiscated as a technology that has others built on it,” Ms Nabourema explained.
The Chief Operating Officer of TBD, Emily Chiu, said given the vast patronage of bitcoin and the emergence of both legacy payment systems and government currencies as well as new, decentralised payment systems, currencies, and digital assets, tbDEX, as a decentralised bitcoin exchange, would help bridge these new technologies with established systems without requiring people to abandon the financial tools they use today.
The founder of Ghana dot com, Professor Nii Quaynor who spoke on the role of bitcoin for economic development said technologies were catalyst for development regardless of the perspectives that may arise on the global front.
He said Africa was lagging behind in bitcoin adoption due to lack of regulation and trust and the banning of digital currencies by major regulatory bodies.
He suggested that with appropriate safety and regulatory measures in place, people would no longer be afraid of bitcoin, and would embrace its ability to facilitate the transfer, storage, and protection of value.
BY TIMES REPORTER
