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The global rate of crypto adoption is now pushing even to the small economies, especially those battling cases of high inflation. Zimbabwe is now among the countries assessing the increasing crypto adoption and looking for ways to tap into this growth.
The Zimbabwean government has now stated that it is considering the use of Bitcoin (BTC/USD) in making legal payments. By doing so, it will be following in the footsteps of El Salvador.
Zimbabwe planning to adopt Bitcoin
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A local publication has revealed that the government is now looking to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender to meet the growing demand and leverage the technology capabilities.
The local publication quoted the permanent secretary and the head of the office of the president, Brigadier Colonel Charles Wekwete, who noted that the government was already holding discussions with businesses regarding the matter.
Wekwete stated that the digital asset sector came with its own challenges that include enabling money laundering, illicit activities and allowing people to conduct unregistered cross-border money transfers.
He further stated that the government was working on ways to regulate the sector to protect investors and secure the country’s financial future. Therefore, the government was involving all the core sectors to get insight before making any major changes.
The government has classified the digital economy framework under the national Development Strategy 1. The government notes that this framework connects governments and businesses to become part of the developing digital economy.
Global Bitcoin adoption is high
The El Salvador Bitcoin law has been highly successful. Even after much scepticism, the country has managed to make major gains out of the use of Bitcoin. The country’s president, Nayib Bukele, has been at the forefront in pushing for this law to succeed. Bukele recently stated that the gains from Bitcoin holdings would be used to construct 20 schools.
Africa has also emerged as a major crypto hub, with inflation pushing people to hold their savings in the form of crypto. A recent report from Chainalysis between July 2020 and June 2021 showed that the Africa crypto market had increased by 1200%, with the highest adoption happening in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania.