Kenya’s Crypto Crowd hopes that William Ruto will be more crypto-friendly because he is the younger candidate, and his campaign is geared toward young people.
Local crypto experts “assume” that William Ruto, who will be the next president of Kenya, is a better hope for Kenya’s Crypto Crowd than Raila Odinga, who lost the election.
The future of crypto in Kenya was not an issue in the election, and neither candidate talked about it. But Ruto is 22 years younger than Odinga, who is 77. This suggests that Ruto might be more open to new ideas.
“Because he is younger, that is just a guess. But since the central bank’s warning in 2018, no candidate has actually offered to talk in-depth about the crypto question “A researcher at the Blockchain Association of Kenya, a trade group, named Roselyne Wanjiru said this. Kenyan regulators haven’t come up with any rules for cryptocurrencies yet.
It’s important for the area because the country is the leader in Africa when it comes to using crypto, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development recently ranked it fifth in the world for adoption (UNCTAD). The U.N. affiliate’s report said that 8.5% of Kenya’s people own cryptocurrencies. This is more than the 8.3% of Americans who own cryptocurrencies.
Kenya’s presidential election was very close, with Ruto getting 50.5% of the vote and Odinga getting 48.8%.
Rufas Kamau, a research and markets analyst, said that Ruto’s youth-friendly campaign, in which he coined the term “hustler nation,” and his age could be signs that he has a positive view of crypto.
“The previous government was very strict. We don’t know how this change will affect crypto, but he has been good to young people, so we hope that he will give them opportunities through crypto, “Kamau said.
The founder of Kenya Blockchain Ladies, Yvonne Kagondu, said she wasn’t sure which outcome would have been better, even though one of Ruto’s main goals is to have an equal number of men and women in his cabinet.
“Ruto is younger, but he seems to be strict, and his word is final, which can be scary. We didn’t feel good about either candidate. No matter what, we will keep working in silence. We don’t want our government to have any problems, “Kagondu said.
Eugene Mutai, a crypto miner from Africa who is also Raise’s chief technology officer and co-founder, said that Kenya’s Crypto Crowd is in a gray area because of the elections.
“The most important thing is who they choose to run the Central Bank of Kenya and the Ministry of Finance. The story of crypto in Kenya hasn’t changed yet, “Mutai said.
Odinga has said that Ruto’s win is not final because he doesn’t agree with the results. Odinga has said that his team will look into all legal options. This could make it harder for Kenya’s Crypto Crowd to get answers.
