[2017-01-30] Mint: The Dakar digital dollar

The Dakar digital dollar

http://www.livemint.com/Home-Page/LdBXRnAicNvaBcRsIuEVCL/The-Dakar-digital-dollar.html

Senegal, of which Dakar is the capital, announced last week that it will be issuing its own national digital currency. Senegal is the western most point in Africa, and its currency is actually not the dollar but the Central African Franc or CFA Franc, a currency that is shared by 14 countries in Africa, most of which were former colonies of France. These countries now have a loose monetary union much like the Euro region to the north of them, to whose currency the CFA Franc is pegged. Senegal’s new eCFA digital money will be legal tender and will share this status alongside the CFA paper money currently in circulation.

Unlike bitcoin and other ‘crypto-currencies’ which are as yet largely unregulated and therefore uncontrolled by national governments, using digital money backed by blockchain technology still allows governments and central banks to control the flow of currency, and dictate how much of it is in circulation. The Senegalese eCFA was made possible by a joint effort by Banque Régionale de Marchés and Dublin-based blockchain start-up eCurrency Mint Limited. The currency will be distributed solely by the central bank, and has passed e-money regulations set by the Central Bank of the West African Economic and Monetary Union.