By Njong Shey
Even though the Central African Banking Commission (COBAC) still maintains the ban on cryptocurrencies, Cameroon’s President Paul Biya is signalling a possible friendly approach by 2025.
MMI revisited the president circular 001 signed on October 24, 2024, relating to the preparation of the state budget for the 2025 financial year.
The circular written to the Prime Minister, who doubles as head of government, emphasised which sectors of the economy the government should prioritise.
So, as part of the public policy objective on the economic front, President Paul Biya instructed the prime minister to “enhance the supervision of cryptocurrency-related activities.”
Cryptocurrency users increasing in Cameroon
As of 2023, statistics indicated that there were more than 90,000 cryptocurrency users in Cameroon. But as of this year, Statista, an online data site, indicates that the user penetration rate of Cameroonians into the cryptocurrency market is at 1.88 percent and is projected to increase by another 1.85 percent by 2025.
The statistics indicate that the Cameroon cryptocurrency market is generating a revenue of 2.6 million USD (about 1.6 billion FCFA) for 2024 alone. These figures, according to the forecast, will increase tremendously by next year.
BEAC creating blockchain for sub-region
Earlier this year, the Bank of Central African States indicated negotiations were ongoing regarding the creation of a blockchain for the central digital currency. A blockchain is a technology that securely stores and shares data in a decentralised, public ledger across a network of computers.
But as of now, the legal tender within the six CEMAC countries remains the FCFA.
“Cryptocurrencies are not yet part of the central bank model,” Jean-Clary Otoumou, BEAC’s Director General of Operations, said last February.
“We all need to be aware that every time we buy from abroad, we spend foreign exchange reserves and weaken our currency,” he added.
According to him, if people think that crypto assets are a way to preserve their savings, they should not forget that they are converting FCFA to dollars or euros, which in turn weakens the FCFA.
COBAC and BEAC’s logic is that, as of now, cryptocurrencies cannot guarantee financial stability within the region.
Crypto market continues to flourish in Cameroon
One of the largest cryptocurrency trading platforms, Binance, is operating in Cameroon. Aside from Binance, there is also a Yellow card, among others. They allow Cameroonians to buy and sell crypto or digital currencies. Deposits are made via banks and Yellow Card, which accepts deposits via banks and mobile money.
These platforms have never been banned or received sanctions for their operation in Cameroon. However, even if the government sanctions their activities, the system allows people to buy stablecoins like USDT from other countries, which they can use to trade other currencies. Last week, one of the leading cryptocurrencies, bitcoin, hit an all-time high of 102,964 USD (over 63.8 million FCFA).
The United States has one of the largest cryptocurrency markets, and its newly elected president, Donald Trump, has adopted a positive approach towards it.
Cryptocurrency is not illegal in Cameroon
According to Prime Time, a law office in Buea, there is no single law in Cameroon that regulates cryptocurrency. It said the only legal framework that regulates electronic money is “Regulation No. 01/11-CEMAC/UMAC/CM.” It is the only CEMAC regulation on the use of electronic money and, however, doesn’t specifically regulate cryptocurrency transactions.
To them, Cameroonians can buy and sell cryptocurrencies so long as the purpose of the transaction is not contravening the law, which is activities of money laundering and financing of terrorism, which are punishable by the penal code.
That probably could explain why President Paul Biya, irrespective of COBAC’s ruling, is calling for supervision and not a ban.
In 2022, the Central African Republic became the second country in the world after El Salvador to legalise Bitcoin as a legal tender.
According to Forbes, the global cryptocurrency market cap today is 3.78 trillion USD (about 2.3 quadrillion).
