National Bank of Ethiopia warns against transactions in digital currencies | FBCwww.fanabc.com/english/national-bank-of-ethiopia-warns-against-transactions-in-digital-currencies/
7 sats \ 6 comments \ @KenyaCoin 6 Jun 2022 bitcoin
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20 sats \ 1 reply \ @faithandcredit 6 Jun 2022
Afaik Ethiopia just completed Africas largest hydro electric plant. What they going to do with all that power.
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19 sats \ 0 replies \ @KenyaCoin OP 6 Jun 2022
The dam (GERD) is only partially completed. They started filling, and last yera began generating electricity, but for now they have only two turbines, (producing ~700 MW) operating. The "nameplate" capacity is 6469MW but anything near that capacity will only occur seasonally, and even a high sustained level would currently be "politically & financially awkward to use."
There are transmission lines from Kenya to purchase (take) some of GERD's generation, but I'm not sure if those reach the dam yet, and since Kenya already has excess generation capacity, it's unknown at what point Kenya might be a customer.
But yes, at some point it makes absolute sense for the dam to generate revenue from the electricity generate from GERD that exeeds what is in demand by the grid by selling that excess to bitcoin miners.
But currently, Ethiopia has significant internal conflict. Until that is resolved, this issue will likely dissuade investors from building a mining op even if there was electricity available today.
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1 sat \ 0 replies \ @KenyaCoin OP 6 Jun 2022
The following, reportedly, is the statement from the central bank (National Bank of Ethiopia) -- in Amharic language.
[Larger image]
Source: https://twitter.com/SamuelAbate61/status/1533763764385898499
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1 sat \ 2 replies \ @KenyaCoin OP 6 Jun 2022
“Ethiopia’s national currency is the Ethiopian Birr, with any financial transaction in Ethiopia to be paid in Birrs, according to the law,” the NBE said in a statement.
It warned that digital currencies are being used to conduct informal financial transactions and money laundering schemes in Ethiopia.
The NBE called on the public to refrain from trading in digital currencies and to report to authorities when they see such illegal transactions.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @KenyaCoin OP 6 Jun 2022
Bitcoin Magazine has an article on this development, plus a statement from an additional banking organization:
The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) released a statement that bitcoin was already being used by individuals for purchasing commercial products and services.
Ethiopian Central Bank: Business Transactions Using Bitcoin Are “Illegal” https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/bitcoin-transactions-are-illegal-ethiopian-central-bank
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1 sat \ 0 replies \ @KenyaCoin OP 6 Jun 2022
This comes on the heels of an announcement by a company founded in Addis Ababa that they were accepting bitcoin for services and holding bitcoin in their corporate treasury:
Octagon Networks converts its entire balance sheet into Bitcoin #34386 https://octagon.net/press/2022/06/05/octagon-networks-converts-its-balance-sheet-into-bitcoin
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