Topic: What is the status of Bitcoin in Tanzania? (Read 175 times)

I am still not sure if I can open a bank account in Tanzania as a foreign tourist and what are the limits.

I decided to search for help among honest people so that I would not need to deal with financial institutions, especially since I might change the country at any time during the trip. A member in a previous comment suggested I post in the Nigerian section where there are opportunities to meet people who can help despite the geographical distance between Nigeria and Tanzania. I'm still considering it honestly.

I prefer solo camping since it avoids me taking on additional responsibilities in case my partner(s) is unable to handle them. But if the experience will introduce me to a wonderful person like you, I certainly have no objection to accompanying you. But are you sure you can give up your comfort zone for months? This is difficult for the majority.

I think you will be good to go if you use P2P exchanges, but that means you may have to set some bank accounts or payment methods once you get there.

I haven't seen any many articles or news stating that Tanzania is not crypto-friendly, or a full hostile ban on them, like it is a case with other African Countries like Nigeria. But even then, Nigerians are still very actively trading despite the ban because of the poor legal framework, so I believe you will not find any troubles with your Bitcoins while in Tanzania.

I am quite envious, I wish I could join you on such a trip 

The matter is certainly not easy and carries a degree of danger to some extent. In addition, solo camping is a really difficult task, and no margin should be left for any error. I will stay in my tent, cook my own food, and maybe buy a bicycle for transportation. On this basis, the amount of $ 2000 seems sufficient, but I want to put guarantees for any of the contingencies that may occur. I read on the Internet that the city of Dar es Salaam (the economic capital) is relatively dangerous and has high crime rates, and this is the city I intended to settle in. Therefore, I chose Zanzibar because it is a tourist destination and is fully secured by the authorities. Campers come from all over the world, and I am in the process of communicating with some of them. Bitcoin is the most important security for me, since I am not limited to two thousand dollars, and since I am not required to declare it or for anyone to know about it.

This is their planned plan and it hasn't happened yet. I don't know if this is positive news for crypto enthusiasts.

Because we know that when it comes from or directly from the CBDC, it is clear that it is under the regulation that someone controls.
In which is for us it is not good. Maybe the only good thing is that the popularity of cryptocurrency is only expanding around the world that's all.

Reference: https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/crypto/tanzania-reportedly-makes-plans-to-launch-cbdc-7647287/

Since you are traveling and you will not be able to wait to get a transaction, it is better for you to communicate with people from Tanzania, several people and make sure that they will convert the bitcoin into the local currency, and then the first thing you do when you arrive at the airport is to convert the bitcoin into the local currency and leave the amount of 2000 dollars in your pocket for emergencies .

Places where you can find Tanzanians:

• Binance P2P
• Bisq.
• Currency exchange board here.
• Question members of the Nigerian board.

Seem like dangerous for me even if your journey looks good for crypto progress, If I were you I have to get ready with perfectly. Maybe I have to prepare enough fiat money to deal with unforeseen problems. We don't know what's next, but better to not walk alone, and invite your friends together with you who know much about crypto. And don't forget to prepare also mixer, or tool where you can easy to hide your privacy. Good luck to you.

I did more detailed research and found that Tanzania, like many countries, does not regulate crypto, but there is leniency in dealing if it is not proven to be used in activities that are prohibited by local laws.  There are offers on Binance from honest sellers who I might be able to deal with one of them if I succeed in contacting him.  Other than that, the best solution seems to be dealing with trusted sellers on the forum.  There is no need to publish a separate topic since there are members who can provide these services on guaranteed terms.  The only problem is the high fees and trading costs since the seller will be required to trade at a much lower value than the real value.

It's really hard to expect a trusted Tanzanian user in this forum, but for member who accept to use Western Union transfers, it's seems you have a chance. You should be create a thread in Currency Exchange [1] to post your offer.

Although there's no laws or legal regulation about Bitcoin in Tanzania, my assumptions is saying Bitcoin is still in grey area.

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[1] https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=53.0

The solution that I imagined to be the best, and which was one of the reasons that encouraged me to publish this topic here in the forum, is to find a trusted member of the forum of Tanzanian origins who can help me or any other reliable member who accepts to send me westernunion transfers from anywhere in the world in exchange for  bitcoin.  This will cost some extra fees, but it's better than nothing anyway

Perhaps international remittance centers like western union could work. If you wanna be extra sure, you could write to WU about your situation - omit bitcoin tho.

With binance, technically, you could use a reputable VPN to mask your location but depending on your payment method, some info could give it away since binance could see everything.

Best case it to go with no-kyc exchanges like agoradesk. You could do other currencies like USD as well.

There's no particular legal action kicking against the use of bitcoin in Tanzania despite there's no much interest in them showing moves towards bitcoin adoption as a legal tender but one can perform any means of transaction with bitcoin, but in recent times they have shown more interest on their own CBDC than bitcoin because they felt it will solve part of the increasing desires for a digital network in cryptocurrency but that's an entirely different game as people's minds were on bitcoin adoption and not CBDC which is a not a crypto but digital fiat currency.

I thought about this as well, since I have a verified account on Binance, and I looked at Binance P2P and found many offers, but the problem remained the same; Can I use Binance in Tanzania with a verified account in another country? And how will I receive the money if I cannot open a bank or postal account in Tanzania, given that I cannot enjoy the services of international payment cards?

I actually thought of posting in one of the local sections, but there is no specific section for Tanzania since the official language there is English and the locals use the Swahili language, which as far as I know does not have a dedicated section here on the forum. In addition, the use of automatic translation tools for posting in local sections is prohibited according to the forum rules.
In fact, I expected to get many answers from local Tanzanians or even those living abroad. Let's wait and see.

I imagine fully custodial exchanges may request you to KYC which could be a problem as you're not a citizen there so I suggest looking into no-kyc p2p exchanges instead, see: https://kycnot.me/?cash=on

Quick look on agoradesk and I see a reasonable amount of sellers, see: https://agoradesk.com/sell-bitcoin-with-tzs-in-tanzania


They seem to be like many other countries where it's legal/permissible and no clear legal framework is present for cryptocurrencies.

See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_cryptocurrency_by_country_or_territory
https://freemanlaw.com/cryptocurrency/tanzania/

But that's merely general information found from couple of mins search lol. I'd say it's likely a local could still give better insight about your question. I suggest chiming into african communities as well like r/Africa.

Good luck on your trip, OP  

Tanzania has a large population that uses Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies mostly in the urban area. The government of Tanzania is discouraging the use of cryptocurrency which is why they are planning to introduce the central bank digital currency (CBDC). But for now, there is no legal framework that regulates crytocurrency operations so there might be no restrictions to crypto operations since it is not banned. The country is crypto-friendly since citizens are allowed to use it without restrictions.


There are many functional crypto exchanges in Tanzania which include Kraken, Binance, Remitano, BitPesa Tanzania, etc, but they all require KYC and might ask for a bank account to which you might not have access to. But some online banks issue credit and debit cards with just emails but they can not be trusted. So basically the problem you might face is how to have a bank account where you can withdraw your funds after using these exchanges.

I am not sure if there are many business that accepts bitcoin for payments. If they exist they might be very few. P2p transactions are also few so the major difficulty you might face is how to convert your bitcoin to the local currency. Kenya will be my best option because it is more crypto-developed than Tanzania.

The first and most important issue will be security. Ensure you get all the information from the embassy before entering the country. Avoid keeping late nights and don't move around with large sums.

I am not sure about their status of Bitcoin but with their intention to participate in CBDC game which will be a trend in near future, I think they are not against Bitcoin locally.

Tanzania CBDC
Tanzania wary about CBDC adoption following studies

I don't see Tanzania in Cryptocurrency Regulations Around The World for illegal list.

I have been doing solo-camping for years, but I have not left the borders of my country. Recently, I decided to do my first solo-camping experience in a new country, and after research, many advised me to go to Tanzania (specifically Zanzibar), since there are direct flights from my country at reasonable prices for an average-income person like me.
I have studied almost all the details of the trip and only one point remains, which is that I intend to stay for several months in Tanzania and perhaps visit a neighboring country. But my country sets specific conditions for the amount of money that I can carry with me (not exceeding $2,000). Of course, the ideal solution is to use Bitcoin ; I mean, I buy bitcoin from the black-market in my country (since crypto is not legalized in my country) to use it later without having to use fiat money in the first place.

I have some questions that I would like to find answers to from local residents or from those who know the nature of life and economy in East African countries. And That's why I decided to bring it up here on the forum :
- Is Tanzania a crypto-friendly country? And what are the limits of that?
- How can crypto be exchanged into local Tanzanian TZS currency in a completely safe way, and are there services in Tanzania (Zanzibar in particular) that accept bitcoin payments?
- If there are difficulties in using Bitcoin for a foreign traveler like me in Tanzania, are there countries in the same East African region that provide easier solutions?
- What suggestions can you give me to help me with any parts of the trip? Knowing that I intend to travel beginning of next July.