PANews reported on June 9 that according to The Reporter, Muluken Amare, director of the Ethiopian Financial Intelligence Service (FIS), revealed at the East and South Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) meeting held last week that the country is preparing a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, although virtual currency transactions are still prohibited. FIS has joined forces with the United Nations, Russia and member states to train financial security experts to monitor illegal crypto transactions. Amare stressed that currently only Ethiopian birr is allowed for transactions, but potential violations are being addressed through technology, manpower and skills building. He mentioned the need to study the scale of domestic crypto transactions, and pointed out that if it is legalized in the future, it will need to clarify the supervision, and if the ban is maintained, the law enforcement mechanism needs to be improved.

The Central Bank of Ethiopia amended its bill several months ago to explicitly ban virtual currencies, but left open the possibility of legalizing them in the future.