Zimbabwe to ban cryptocurrency

The press notes that the country the fiat currency of which has become a subject for jokes has banned cryptocurrency activities. Zimbabwe’s Reserve Bank has issued a statement detailing the reasons of this decision three days ago. In this statement, officials note the volatility of cryptocurrencies, while also acknowledging that some related businesses had already put down roots within the state jurisdiction.

Notably, the previous extremely authoritarian government of the country (headed by Robert Mugabe) has not banned digital currencies although it could have easily done so. This might demonstrate how Mugabe did not follow the latest trends during the last years of his leadership.

Bitcoin has become $13,499 in Zimbabwe amidst the recent coup before this price has been reached worldwide. The dollar of Zimbabwe costs 0.00276319 USD at the press time, while Bitcoin - a cryptocurrency which is not backed by any central government - $8,432.27. This is cheaper than the last week values, but still considerably stronger than ZWD. This explains why the local population used Bitcoin as a store of value.