But many people struggling to buy everyday basics such as bread found them too pricey. The banks that gave us this information reiterated that the documentation is not clear, they are not 100% sure that this is the case. The value of ZIG is linked to the price of gold, but it exists and operates as a digital asset rather than a physical banknote or coin. The latest move to introduce gold-backed coins is part of a wider plan by the central bank to stabilise the country’s local unit, which has been faltering against the US dollar, by mopping up excess liquidity in the market. The Zimbabwe gold-backed digital currency will be used as legal tender and a store of value alongside the Zimbabwean dollar and bond notes. But the digital currency, the first ever by the country’s central bank, hit the market Monday to lukewarm reception from economists and ordinary Zimbabweans.
Backed by a certain amount of gold, which helps keep its value stable, this currency is tied to the market value of the gold – unlike a fiat currency. The Reserve Bank Of Zimbabwe is skeptical about bitcoin and has not officially permitted its use. On 5 April 2017 however, BitMari, a Pan-African Blockchain platform got licensed, through its banking partner, AgriBank, to operate in the country. To begin buying bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies you will need to link a bank account or credit card to the exchange.
Within 8 months of launching in July 2017, Binance quickly skyrocketed into the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, processing more than $1 billion on a daily basis. It’s rise to popularity can be attributed to the impressive number of cryptocurrencies they offer, professional attitude, friendly and transparent CEO, and low trading fees. Amid these economic challenges, analysts have questioned whether Harare has enough reserves to adequately back the new currency, and if the latter could suffer from volatility in gold prices. The new currency – called Zim Gold (ZiG) – will be backed by foreign currencies, gold and precious minerals, John Mushayavanhu, the governor of Zimbabwe’s Reserve Bank, told reporters in the capital Harare on Friday. Trust in Zimbabwe’s currency is desperately low after people in 2008 had their savings wiped out by hyperinflation, which reached 5 billion percent, according to the International Monetary Fund, nearly a world record. The country has labored under an inflationary monetary policy for decades.
Its poor performance has contributed to the Southern African country’s high inflation rate, which after climbing well into the triple digits last year, was at 55 percent in March, according to official data. “With effect from today … banks shall convert the current Zimbabwe dollar balances into the new currency,” he said. Should this continue, the gold-backed ZiG will become a stable currency, slowing the dollarisation of the economy. ZIMCODD explained that from now on, ZiG’s money supply growth will only be limited to the growth of RBZ’s reserve asset holdings.
The RBZ may provide further guidelines and information on the specific platforms, services, and merchants that accept ZIG tokens as a form of payment. We are already on record for calling Zimbabwe the kingdom of funny money. Our trillion dollars notes are highly sought after by collectors accross the world. The Zimbabwean government has always been bold and inventive when it comes to introducing new currencies most people do not know it but the ZWL is mostly a digital currency made up mostly of bank balancies and little else. Having had a taste of digital currencies Zimbabwe is now on the cusp of introducing the public to it’s latest currency the ZiG. On October 5, 2023, Zimbabwe officially adopted its gold-backed digital token, ZiG, as a legal tender for domestic transactions.
