Ethiopia is preparing for the regulation of cryptocurrencies

On June 9, despite Ethiopia's official ban on trading virtual currencies, officials from the Financial Intelligence Service (FIS) said they are making preparations to regulate cryptocurrencies.
FIU Director Muluken Amare made the announcement at the East and South Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) conference in Addis Ababa. The agency is working with the UN, Russia and member states to train financial security experts on monitoring and handling illicit virtual currency transactions.
Amare said: "In Ethiopia, it is not allowed to trade virtual currencies except Ethiopian birr, but we are providing training to prepare for possible unauthorized transactions." He added that regardless of whether the National Bank of Ethiopia decides to legalize virtual currencies in the future, relevant technical, human and professional capacity building work is underway.
Kamal Anwar, a United Nations counter-terrorism program management official, pointed out that virtual assets are not only used for terrorist financing, but also for tax evasion and money laundering.