After Miami And New York, Will Tanzania Be The Next Crypto Stronghold?

After Miami and New York promised to welcome Bitcoin BTC/USD and crypto companies in the United States, Zanzibar plans to follow suit and become the next stronghold for the cryptocurrency community of the United Republic of Tanzania.

What Happened: Zanzibar — which is a semiautonomous territory in the nation where it resides — is exploring regulating and adopting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Zanzibar Minister of State Mudrick Soraga recently told local news agency The Citizen.

The Zanzibar administration is planning meetings with stakeholders such as ministries and banks to discuss crypto policy development. The move is part of a wider plan to adopt cryptocurrencies after Soraga met with local crypto enthusiasts who insisted that local authorities should recognize and adopt cryptocurrencies as an official transaction method. The official reportedly said that it is now "seeking views on the matter before deciding whether it is viable or not."

Per the report, professor Haji Semboja at the State University of Zanzibar said that Zanzibar's administration needs to do a lot of work before adopting cryptocurrencies, including coming up with policies explaining the objectives and benefits of crypto.

Tanzania Bankers Association chairman Abdulmajid Nsekela also highlighted that the city needs to learn how this technology works and how it is regulated from other countries that engaged with cryptocurrencies earlier.

The report follows newly elected New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently declaring that he will take his three first paychecks in Bitcoin after Miami Mayor Francis Suarez made the news by announcing he is going to get 100% of his next paycheck in Bitcoin.

In mid-February, reports that Miami passed the mayor's Bitcoin resolution resulted in the city analyzing the incorporation of Bitcoin in the municipal government's finances. At the time, Suarez said that the state would give legislative priority to BTC, look into paying employees in the cryptocurrency and also make efforts to invest its treasury in the digital coin.

BTC Price Action: As of press time, Bitcoin is trading at $64,098 after seeing its value increase by about 0.66% over the last 24 hours according to CoinMarketCap data.