The Boston University's Center for Finance, Law and Policy (CFLP) has launched a task force to research the problem of cryptocurrencies’ usability in conflict areas.

In her interview to Coindesk the leading researcher Dr Daivi Rodima-Taylor expressed the assumption that digital currencies can bring in some new perspective for the regions where central banks cannot function normally. She also explained that the project was aimed at investigating the ways in which cryptocurrencies merge with traditional banking sphere.

Taking Somalia as an example, Dr Rodima-Taylor showed that the vital need of trust-based remittances in conflict zones could prompt the development of informal economy infrastructure and thus make these areas quite receptive to new technologies.

“As the cases of post-conflict Afghanistan and Somalia have shown, local creative combinations of existing remittance institutions and novel technological opportunities can harness adaptive potentials even in the contexts of widespread devastation,” she said.

Still, according to the expert, for the time being cryptocurrencies have some serious drawbacks, namely, their volatility and the fact that they are not widespread enough, with both factors adding some costs and risks for those who decide to use them.


Maria Rudina