A Ghanaian cryptocurrency and blockchain association, Afroblocks, has warned the Bank of Ghana (BOG) to resist the temptation to develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC) based on “old, traditional, siled financial thinking.”
Afroblocks Not consulted
Afroblocks (formerly the Blockchain Society of Ghana), instead, would like the central bank to mimic “financial projects that are unlimited and decentralized like today’s cryptocurrencies.” According to Omar Majdoub, one of the co-founders of the alliance, this will increase the probability of success of CBDC.
Afroblocks Majdoub’s comments follow the recent BOG press release, reaffirming the central bank’s desire to be among the first in Africa to introduce CBDC. As recently reported by Bitcoin.com News, BOG has selected a German company as its technology partner in its CBDC project. Giesecke Devrient is responsible for providing “technology and solutions that meet Ghanaian requirements”.
However, despite BOG’s apparent willingness to work with organizations with the right expertise and experience, Afroblocks Majdoub claims that Afroblocks was not consulted. Majdoub explained:
We have never been consulted about this initiative, all the facts that we know are in the public publications of the BOG. In fact, public CBDC data is very rare. If you invite us, we will be happy to contribute to our experience.