A few days ago, reports emerged that Tunisia was planning to issue a digital currency. This would have made it the first central bank in the world to issue a digital currency. TASS News Agency, a reputable Russian news organization, was the first to report the news. It was also reported by a Russian government website.
Central Bank Refutes Claims
According to a report by ilboursa.com, a stock market-oriented news platform in Tunisia, the report is not true. The central bank claims that such claims have no basis in facts. However, the bank did confirm that it was looking into alternative payment systems, including the possibility of launching a central bank digital currency. The bank refuted claims that it had entered into any partnership with a foreign company or government for the development of a digital currency.
Thus far, the bank can only confirm that it is looking into the potential pitfalls and benefits that would come with the issuance of a digital currency. The areas it is focusing on right now are monetary policy stability as well as cybersecurity issues. Tunisia’s central bank emphasized the fact that this was purely research and there were no plans in the near future to launch the digital version of its national currency the Dinar.
A Successful Marketing Stunt
When the news first broke out, the native token for Universa, the company that had been allegedly working with Tunisia’s central bank saw a brief price rally. The UTNP tokens climbed from $0.0016 to reach a peak price of $0.0046 in less than 24 hours. This was a gain of almost 190 percent. It was especially significant given the current crypto market conditions.
The UTNP briefly climbed to $0.0094 before it leveled off at around $0.0064, which lasted until November 11. Since the central bank of Tunisia refuted the claims that it was working with Universa, the price of the coin has been on a downward trend. It is currently trading at around $0.0034, which is about double its initial price before news reports about the collaboration.
Despite the denial by Tunisia’s central bank, Universa insists that it did launch a digital dinar. While its claim may be true, it would appear that it is not associated in any way to the Tunisian central bank. Instead, it could be considered a privately issued stablecoin like the USDT and the TUSD.
About the Digital Currency Startup
During an event organized by the Tunisia Forex Club, the central bank’s governor made a transfer of one dinar to an official of the IMF. However, according to the bank, this was a theoretical demonstration of the solutions offered by digital currencies and it had no relationship to the central bank. The bank insists that the demonstration was taken out of context.
Technology for the demonstration was provided by Universa, which outlined a great amount of detail on how Tunisia would roll out its digital currency. The Tunisia Forex Club also issued a statement saying that what the head of the central bank did was a simple theoretical demonstration.
Image Source: Flickr / J_cadmus
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