The Zimbabwe Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube suggests treating cryptocurrency as a type of investment rather than a currency.
In 2021, the cryptocurrency industry became mainstream, drawing not only institutional investors and millionaires, but also governments.
First, El Salvador made history by making Bitcoin legal tender, setting off a chain reaction that saw countries like Paraguay, Argentina, and Panama consider legalizing cryptocurrency use in their financial systems.
Now Zimbabwe may join the growing league, as the country’s Finance Minister has stated that cryptocurrencies cannot be ignored at this time.
Mthuli Ncube, the finance minister, stated that over 30% of the country’s youth are invested in crypto-assets and that it is impossible to avoid them.
The finance minister has hinted at prospective concessions on the crypto market to boost its use, according to a Herald story. Ncube insisted on treating cryptocurrency as a type of investment rather than a currency. He clarified,
“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.”
Ncube intimated during his conversation in Dubai that the Zimbabwean government had already begun the process of regulating cryptocurrency. The administration has initiated a sandbox initiative, he explained.
“We have taken the first step already and created a sandbox, at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), where the idea and everything is being tested in a safe regulated environment where it will then migrate to this safe Victoria Falls environment,” Ncube said.
The digital assets market, which was formerly regarded as an internet bubble, is now constructing a new world financial order, as evidenced by the increased interest of financially distressed countries in crypto.
