Best Bitcoin Exchange for Burundi
The East African landlocked state of Burundi is taking drastic measures in the Bitcoin area. The Central Bank of the Republic bans trade in crypto products on the territory of the state. Traders are threatened with “harsh measures” in the event of non-compliance. Observers assume an attempt at political control on the capital market.
Burundi banishes Bitcoin. As the “Banque de la République du Burundi” announced on its website this week, trading in crypto currencies is now prohibited. Users who nevertheless participate in crypto transactions will be refused help by the financial institution. According to the central bank, the reason for the ban lies in the volatility of crypto currencies.
Burundi justifies the decision in particular with the protection of its inhabitants against financial losses. Some citizens of the East African country have in the past lost their investments in crypto currency trading. They then asked the government for help. According to Alfred Nyobewumusi of the Micro Finance Department of the Central Bank, Bitcoin & Co. are therefore illegal in the country. All other crypto currencies, such as ether and litecoin, are also banned with immediate effect.
Since virtual currencies or crypto currencies are not controlled by a central bank or government, the currencies have no legal basis on the territory of Burundi, the message says.
Burundi threatens with consequences for Bitcoin traders
Meanwhile, the Burundi central bank is threatening citizens who violate the new legal regulations with harsh consequences. “We will take strict measures against those who do not respect this decision,” Nyobewumusi said in an interview in the capital Bujumbura.
The ban also affects remittances from migrants from other countries. These account for 1.2 percent of Burundi’s gross domestic product. Since many citizens have little or no access to traditional financial services, remittances from relatives working abroad are an important economic factor.
It is not uncommon for these relatives to make the payments due to a lack of alternatives in Bitcoin & Co. These are enjoying growing popularity in cross-border financial transfers. Poorer countries in particular benefit from the low-cost transfer services. After all, Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world. By 2016, the country had the third lowest GDP per capita in the world.
Does Burundi want to control the capital market?
Meanwhile, observers suspect that the Burundi government actually has other reasons for the ban. Kenyan user Kenya Coin, for example, believes that the decision serves to stabilize its own currency and exercise control over the capital market. Nevertheless, the commentator speculates on Twitter, the freelancers in Burundi will continue to trade Bitcoin. Moreover, the country is not only one of the poorest, but also one of the most politically oppressed countries in the world. In 2017, it ranked 160th out of 180 in the Freedom of the Press ranking.
History
The franc is nominally divided into 100 centimes. However, since Burundi began issuing its currency, coins have never been issued in centimes. In fact, centime coins were only issued when the country used Belgian Congo francs. The symbol for the Burundian franc is FBu. After talks with leaders of the East African community, there was speculation that the East African shilling would replace the Burundi franc by 2015.
In 1916, after the occupation of Belgium in the former colony of Germany, the franc became the official legal tender in Burundi. The Belgian-Congo franc replaced the German East African rupee as legal tender in the country and was used until the introduction of the Rwanda and Burundi franc in 1960. The state began to issue the Burundi franc in 1964. There were plans to introduce a single currency in all member countries of the East African Community.
Burundian coins
The Bank of the Kingdom of Burundi introduced 1 franc brass coins in 1965. In 1968 the brass coins were replaced by aluminium coins when the Bank of the Republic of Burundi, the country’s central bank, began issuing coins. The new coins are made of 10 franc copper-nickel together with 1 and 5 aluminium franc coins. Both the 5 and 10 franc coins have milled continuous edges. In 1976, a series of 1- and 5-franc coins was again introduced in the country and the coat of arms was added. Another set of new coins was introduced in Burundi, but this time it was 10 and 50 francs issued in 2011.
Banknotes
Between February 1964 and December 31, 1965, notes in the denominations 1,000, 500, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 were rolled out by the issuing bank of Rwanda and Burundi. The notes were printed with additional features including a diagonal deepening of the word “BURUNDI” for use in the country. Between 1964 and 1965 there were irregular problems by the Bank of the Kingdom of Burundi (Banque du Royaume du Burundi) of the same designations. The Bank of the Republic of Burundi began in 20 with the issue of notes for 1966 francs and above, they were overprinted and replaced the word “kingdom” by “republic”. The Bank began issuing banknotes in denominations of 5,000, 1,000, 500, 100, 50, 20 and 10. However, 10 francs of 1968 were decommissioned, but they were soon replaced by franc coins. In 2001, the country was introduced in 2,000 francs notes, and in 2004, 10,000 francs notes were issued. A picture of Burundi schoolchildren taken by Kelly Fajack was used on the back of the 10,000 franc banknote.
The economy of Burundi
Over time, the Burundi franc has weakened further against the dollar. Currently, 1 Burundian franc is equivalent to 0.00058 US dollars. Economic growth in Burundi is suffering mainly from the political crisis, which has plunged the country into an economically weak situation, drought and international sanctions. The EU has suspended direct financial support for Bujumbura, causing the country to suffer from a shortage of foreign exchange, which in turn has led to an increase in import costs. The country’s current situation is still projected through 2017, as inflation is also on the rise.