Zimbabwe launches new gold-backed currency, but age-old challenges remain
It was the U.S. dollar and South African rand, and then Zimbabwe switched to a USD-backed bond note, then the Zim dollar, and now, it’s ZiG, as woes continue.
It was the U.S. dollar and South African rand, and then Zimbabwe switched to a USD-backed bond note, then the Zim dollar, and now, it’s ZiG, as woes continue.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) introduces Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), a gold-backed digital token, as legal tender for retail use.
As other African countries explore CBDCs, Zimbabwe plans to follow the trend of using retail gold-backed digital tokens in an attempt to aid economic woes.
nChain's study titled "Immutable Livestock Tracking and Compliance Logs Using Blockchain" tracks cattle from birth, recording all meaningful events in the supply chain for easy verification later.
Zimbabwe’s tokens are backed by 140 kilograms of gold, the central bank says, revealing it’s preparing for a second round of sale despite an IMF warning.
The core feature of Zimbabwe's new gold-backed tokens is its fractionalization, allowing individual investors to buy tokens for as low as $10.
Morocco lifted the ban on digital assets, Kenya is now taxing Bitcoin, Nigeria drafted its first law recognizing Bitcoin, Zambia delved into CBDCs and more.
The CBDC is one of the measures the central bank is looking to utilize in tightening monetary policy to "sustainably anchor inflation and exchange rate expectations."
2021 had it all in Africa for digital currencies—adoption soared by 1,200% as Kenya led global P2P trades, but there was the bad as well, like a $3.8B scam.
The Zimbabwe government is reportedly in consultation with the private sector on possibly making BTC legal tender like in El Salvador, but this would be a mistake.
In his recent tweet about the DMCC Crypto Centre in Dubai, Zimbabwe Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube commended the potential of lowering remittance fees via decentralized finance.
The minister was inspired by solutions being developed at the DMCC Crypto Valley in Dubai and believes that digital currencies could change remittances.