Zimbabwe Issues Gold Backed Digital Currency

The Central Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) plans to issue an official gold-backed digital currency that will help stabilize the local currency Zim dollar, Sunday Mail reported. The tokens will be in the form of electronic money backed by the country’s gold reserves under the control of the central bank. RBZ aims to enable people holding Zim dollars to exchange their holdings for gold-backed tokens to protect them from the instability of the local currency.

The Zim dollar is a currency known for its instability. According to Investing.com, $1 USD is now closer to 1,000 Zim, up from 150 Zim a year ago. The country uses both currencies. RBZ announced plans to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in August. Other African countries are also in search of a CBDC; Nigeria launched its eNaira in October 2021.

According to a report published by blockchain data firm Chainalysis in October 2022, small individual payments made in Sub-Saharan Africa, which has the highest rate of crypto-retail payments (80%) in the world under a thousand dollars, support the extraordinary adoption and use of crypto. provides. The report also highlights that peer-to-peer transactions are more common in Sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere else in the world. Africa surpasses Central and South Asia and the Oceania region in second place in peer-to-peer transactions, accounting for around 6 percent of all crypto trading volume.

While noting that many Africans integrate crypto into their daily lives, the report states that “Crypto use is driven by everyday necessities, as in Africa, contrary to the speculations of the rich, especially in countries where the value of local fiat currencies is declining.” Alongside individual transactions, remittances and business transactions have also become key drivers for Africa’s heavy adoption and use of crypto.