Title: Cryptocurrency regulation in Africa: advantages, motivation, regulatory models, challenges, consequences, and principles vs. rules-based regulation

Authors: Peterson K. Ozili

Addresses: Advisory Services Group, Central Bank of Nigeria, Abuja, 900001, Nigeria

Abstract: This study examines cryptocurrency regulation in African countries. It identifies the advantages of cryptocurrency regulation, the regulators of cryptocurrency in African countries, and it identifies the existing cryptocurrency regulatory models in Africa. It also identifies the motivation for regulating cryptocurrency in Africa as well as the challenges and consequences of regulating cryptocurrency in Africa. The study also offers a perspective on rules-based vs. principles-based cryptocurrency regulation in African countries. The study shows that majority of African countries adopt a 'do-not-regulate' cryptocurrency regulatory model which indicates that cryptocurrency remains largely unregulated in many African countries. Few African countries adopt the full-scale cryptocurrency regulatory model, the total ban cryptocurrency regulatory model, the soft ban cryptocurrency regulatory model, and the use-at-own-risk cryptocurrency regulatory model.

Keywords: cryptocurrency; regulation; Africa; crypto assets; blockchain; distributed ledger.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBC.2024.143982

International Journal of Blockchains and Cryptocurrencies, 2024 Vol.5 No.4, pp.294 - 313

Received: 16 Aug 2024
Accepted: 26 Nov 2024
Published online: 16 Jan 2025 *

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