Ethiopia is preparing to regulate Crypto Assets trading.

According to a message from Deep Tide TechFlow on June 9, as reported by The Reporter Magazine, although the Ethiopian government has banned trading in Virtual Money, officials from the Financial Intelligence Bureau (FIS) stated that they are preparing to regulate Crypto Assets.

The Director of the Financial Intelligence Bureau, Muluken Amare, announced this news at the ESAAMLG( meeting held in Addis Ababa. The bureau is working with the United Nations, Russia, and member countries to provide training for financial security experts on monitoring and handling illegal Virtual Money transactions.

Amare stated: “In Ethiopia, trading virtual money is not allowed except for the Ethiopian Birr, but we are providing training to prepare for potential unauthorized transactions.” He added that regardless of whether the National Bank of Ethiopia decides to legalize virtual money in the future, the relevant technology, manpower, and professional capacity building work is ongoing.

Kamal Anwar, a project management officer for the United Nations Counter-Terrorism, pointed out that virtual assets are used not only for terrorism financing but also for tax evasion and money laundering activities.