BoB closes door on cryptocurrencies

No through way: The Bank of Botswana says cryptocurrencies are not in its plans PIC: MBONGENI MGUNI
No through way: The Bank of Botswana says cryptocurrencies are not in its plans PIC: MBONGENI MGUNI

The Bank of Botswana says while it has widened investment guidelines for the foreign reserves, it has no plans to consider investing in cryptocurrencies, which it describes as “speculative assets without the backing of any underlying economic activity”.

On Tuesday, Reuters reported that the global cryptocurrency market capitalisation had hit an all-time peak of $2 trillion (P22 trillion), led by its most popular product, Bitcoin, whose own market capitalisation was at a record $1 trillion (P11 trillion).

Bitcoin was by far the world’s top-performing asset class last year, rising by 300% and providing returns 10-times better than the next best performing asset. The cryptocurrency’s performance beat the combined gains of gold and the Dow Jones stock market by a factor of 10, as investors flocked to Bitcoin with the coronavirus (COVID-19) decimating economies and traditional markets.

Editor's Comment
The people have spoken

In fact, early election results in some areas across the country, speak to large voter turnout which suggests that voters crowded at polling stations to decide appropriately. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) revealed that 80% of the 1,037,684 people who had registered to vote turned up to exercise their right.It’s unfortunate that at the time of cobbling this editorial comment, results had just started trickling in. We recognise that...

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