The cryptocurrency market has gone mainstream in 2021 attracting attention from not just institutional firms and billionaires but also from countries. First El Salvador created history by making Bitcoin a legal tender in the country which triggered a Domino effect leading to the likes of Paraguay, Argentina, and Panama also looking to legalize crypto use in their financial sphere.
Now Zimbabwe might also join the growing league as the Finance Minister of the country recently said that it’s impossible to ignore cryptocurrencies at this point. The finance minister Mthuli Ncube said nearly 30% of the country’s youths are invested in crypto-assets and it’s impossible to run away from it. According to a report published in Herald, the finance minister has hinted at possible concessions on the crypto market to promote its use. Ncube insisted on using crypto as an investment asset class rather than a currency. He explained,
“But our view is that we do not want it to be a currency. Want this to be an investment class. So through the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange platform, we will try to create crypto-based products there, which are ring-fenced within the offshore zone.”
Zimbabwe Working on Crypto Regulations?
During his interaction in Dubai, Ncube hinted that the Zimbabwean government has already initiated the process of regulating crypto. He explained that the government has started a sandbox program
“We have taken the first step already and created a sandbox, at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), where the idea and everything are being tested in a safe regulated environment where it will then migrate to this safe Victoria Falls environment,” Ncube said.
Looking at the growing interest of financially challenged nations towards crypto, the digital assets marker that was seen as an internet bubble is building a new world financial order.
