Hong Kong based media outlet Asia Times reports that the authorities of Afghanistan and Tunisia are looking to issue bonds based on bitcoin.
Asia Times reports that Khalil Sediq, Governor of the Central Bank of Afghanistan, and Marouane El Abassi, Governor of the Banque Centrale de Tunisie, were speaking at the Spring Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund in Washington.
Asia Times states that Sediq told the publication that it was looking to create a sovereign crypto bond that uses blockchain technology to raise $5.8 billion for the country’s mining, energy, and agriculture sectors.
Abassi, meanwhile, said that the nation’s authorities were looking into the issuance of a sovereign Bitcoin bond, declaring to attendees that Tunisia was one of the first nations to issue and e-currency. Abassi also stated 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.”
Could ICO/STOs Be Good Fundraising Mechanisms for Large Entities?
If government-approved STOs and ICOs formed, it would open up several opportunities for authorities and businesses. ICO investment has diminished dramatically in late 2018 and so far in 2019, after a staggering $6.3 billion was recorded during the whole of 2018. This is largely because authorities – such as in China – have clamped down on the fundraising mechanism for fear of consumers being defrauded, and for the general volatility of the market.
Opening up fundraising mechanisms, however, tied strongly to the country’s economy, would give developing countries an additional method by which they can raise money.
