The Bank of Uganda has warned members of the public that it has not licensed any company or any person to offer cryptocurrency services in Uganda.
In a statement issued on April 29, 2022, the Central Bank said they have not licensed any institution to sell crypto-currencies or to facilitate the trade in crypto-currencies.
This, they said, is in line with the official government position as communicated by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development in October 2019.
“Bank of Uganda has noted press reports and adverts advising the public that they can covert cryptocurrencies into mobile money and vice versa.
We are also aware that such a conversion cannot happen without the participation of the Payment Service Providers and or Payment System Operators,” the statement reads in part.
“Accordingly, this is to warn all licensed entities under the National Payment Systems Act, 2020 to desist from facilitating cryptocurrency transactions,” it adds.
A cryptocurrency is an encrypted data string that denotes a unit of currency. It is monitored and organized by a peer-to-peer network called a blockchain, which also serves as a secure ledger of transactions, e.g., buying, selling, and transferring.
Cryptocurrency may be a good investment if you are willing to accept that it is a high-risk gamble which could pay off – but also that there is a strong chance you could lose all of your money.