Zimbabwe’s Minister of Information has publicly dismissed rumors that the country is considering the adoption of cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin (BTC). Instead, Minister Monica Mutsvangwa has clarified that her government is keen to experiment with a CBDC.
The rumors surrounding Zimbabwe’s crypto adoption started after several reports quoted Charles Wekwete, permanent secretary of the president’s office, saying that the government was in talks with private sector businesses to make plans that would introduce cryptocurrency into the country.
The day after the reports went live, Mutsvangwa held a cabinet briefing to dismiss the ongoing rumors “Government would like to assure the nation that it is not considering introducing another currency in the economy as reported in some sections of the media. Our local currency is the Zimbabwe dollar (ZW$) and not cryptocurrency.”
Furthermore, the minister noted that the government of Zimbabwe is following the footsteps of other countries by taking a closer look at CBDCs instead of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoins or any forms of derivatives.
If launched in Zimbabwe, the CBDCs will be attached to the Zimbabwe dollar and will have the monetary value of the local currency in real-time. Governments around the world are experimenting with retail and wholesale CBCDs to find cheaper cross-border payment alternatives while also looking to increase their ability to track transactions and to deter money laundering and other fraudulent activities.
A number of governments in Africa are now looking at CBDCs as a tool to speed up their financial inclusion initiatives. Ghana was the most recent country to join the growing list of African countries that are currently looking into CBDC offerings.
The CBDC developed by the Bank of Ghana will support offline transactions. According to the bank’s head of fintech and innovation Kwame Oppong, “The e-cedi would be capable of being used in an offline environment through some smart cards.”
The offline transaction feature of the CBDC aims to catalyse the adoption of the technology in regions that lack reliable access to electricity and internet connectivity.
