I had the opportunity to form friendships with Zimbabweans, work with them, and also live with them when I lived in South Africa. They are brilliant and very industrious. Sadly their country is nothing to write home about economically, for a country that used to be referred to as the breadbasket of Africa.
Zimbabwe is recently in the news about developing a gold-back digital currency, but before getting to that I have always wondered how is the adoption of cryptocurrency in Zimbabwe.
For a country that has been hit by economic crises for over a decade, I expect its citizens to be up there in the rankings of cryptocurrency users like we see with Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and further out in South America like Venezuela, and Argentina with similar economic crises.
It is unclear where Zimbabwe stands in the cryptocurrency adoption ratings in Africa, I would expect it to be in the top 10, tapping into cryptocurrency as an alternative form of money.
Zimbabwe Gold-Backed Digital Currency
Zimbabwe aims to address the demand for store of value, and by so doing it is looking at launching a gold-backed digital currency.
According to a report from local media outlet The Sunday Mail, the move will allow small amounts of Zimbabwean dollars to be exchanged for the digital gold token, enabling more Zimbabweans to hedge against currency volatility. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor John Mangudya said the plan intends to “leave no one and no place behind.
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Zimbabwe is a country rich in gold, it has suffered from mismanagement of its wealth over the years. Introducing a gold-backed digital currency might turn out well for people to hedge against the continuously depreciating Zimbabwean dollar if done right.
The success of gold-backed Zim currency is dependent upon several factors, trust is one, and knowing the African leaders, they tend not to excel in that department.
Its availability could be another factor to look at even though the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor John Mangudya stated the plan is to leave no one out, therefore making it easily available and accessible is important
What It Means For Zimbabweans
Whether the gold-back digital currency is a success or not I like to look for a possible catalyst to propel cryptocurrency adoption whether, on a small or large scale, every single person that taps into cryptocurrency is a win towards adoption.
Since Zimbabwe is going digital with currency, the effect of that could lead some to cryptocurrency as it is digital as well. Humans are still stuck with having things in their physical form, digital money sounds foreign to some and if the Reserve Bank is introducing digital currency, it invariably presents curiosity for cryptocurrency.
