Zimbabwe invites public to assist in crafting cryptocurrency legal framework

By bne IntelliNews

Zimbabwe is inviting public input to help in developing a cryptocurrency regulatory framework.

“In line with global trends and best practices, Zimbabwe is embarking on an exercise to assess and understand the cryptocurrency landscape,” the government said in a statement.

The southern African nation has established a committee to consult with operators in the virtual-asset ecosystem. It is calling on all cryptocurrency service providers, whether they operate within the country or offer services to its citizens, to provide comments by June 26. This is part of a broader effort to understand and assess the cryptocurrency landscape in the African nation.

Zimbabwe has faced currency turmoil since 2000 amid hyperinflation. It dropped the local dollar in 2009 in favour of a basket of foreign currencies led by the greenback. It reintroduced the Zimbabwe dollar in 2019 but it crashed many times leading to a reintroduction of a multicurrency regime again. In April 2024, the government scrapped the local dollar and replaced it with the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) which is backed by 2.5 tonnes of gold and about $100mn in foreign currencies.

In between, it introduced physical gold coins and digital ones in efforts to curb inflation and support the local tender.