The Bank of Uganda is reportedly adopting a supportive stance towards the idea of cryptocurrency businesses joining its Regulatory Sandbox, calling for the Blockchain Association of Uganda to share their expertise. 

Specifically, the bank reportedly drafted a letter at the beginning of June to the chairperson of the Blockchain Association of Uganda (BAU), Kwame Rungunda, mentioning a meeting between the two parties in early May. 

The central bank further recommended the nation’s crypto advocacy group revise the sandbox regulations prior to it making time for additional talks. technical-wise.

In June last year, the bank reportedly introduced a regulatory sandbox framework, making it possible for financial technology (fintech) entities to run trial phases for “innovative financial solutions” in a controlled environment, in an effort of promoting the uptake of electronic payments and other digital financial offerings within the nation.

The recent letter seems to be a complete turn-around regarding the Bank of Uganda’s approach to cryptocurrency.

In late April, the bank reportedly warned against cryptocurrencies, issuing a notice to every payment service entity locally, claiming that enabling crypto transactions means leaving the nation vulnerable to money laundering and scams.

It further stated that any provider, nominally a bank or fintech establishment, discovered to be offering supporting features for the trade of cryptocurrencies would have their financial license revoked.

Crypto does not suffer from any prohibition in Uganda and is still available for buying, holding, and trading. Nonetheless, there is currently no official legislation dedicated to cryptocurrencies yet, and as of now, no company has been able to obtain a virtual asset license to function in the nation.