The governors of the central banks of Afghanistan and Tunisia spoke at the 2019 annual Spring Meetings in Washington DC, hosted by the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), explaining that they are working towards issuing the world’s first sovereign Bitcoin bond.
According to a report by Asia Times,
“Khalil Sediq, Governor at the Central Bank of Afghanistan, told Asia Times at the event that the country was seriously considering issuing a sovereign crypto bond that uses blockchain technology as an instrument to raise some US$5.8 billion in needed private-sector investment for the country’s critical mining, energy and agriculture sectors.”
The Bitcoin Bond
Sediq elaborated over the role bitcoin could play in enabling the government to reach international markets and overcome severe restrictions on borrowing. The central bank is exploring Hyperledger’s blockchain technology financial services platform in order to create a new financial instrument.
Being an open source, global collaborative effort for cross-industry blockchain technologies, the Hyperledger could underpin the new infrastructure that purportedly will enable Afghanistan to execute an enterprise-level platform.
One of the world’s largest producers of lithium, Afghanistan owns mineral reserves, that is currently valued at over $3 trillion. The suggested bitcoin bond could be metals futures, such as lithium, if approved and executed, the said financial instrument would be the first of its kind.
Marouane El Abassi, Tunisian central bank governor asserted at the summit, that the advantages and disadvantages of a Bitcoin bond are being explored by a special division at the bank. The report further stated:
“Abassi added that Bitcoin and blockchain Hyperledger technology offers central banks an efficient tool to combat money-laundering, manage remittances, fight cross-border terrorism and limit grey economies.”
The world’s fifth-largest producer of cotton, Uzbekistan is reportedly already exploring blockchain, cryptocurrencies and the issuance of a Bitcoin bond that could be tied to the cotton futures market.
“Uzbekistan, which sent a high-level delegation to the IMF World Bank event so it could study Bitcoin and blockchain, should not be counted out in the race to issue the first sovereign Bitcoin bond, Uzbek Ambassador to the United States Javlon Vakhabov told meeting delegates.”
IMF chief Christine Lagarde spoke at the spring meeting last Wednesday and notes that cryptocurrencies are “clearly shaking the system.”
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