The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) plans to introduce a gold-backed digital currency as legal tender to help stabilize the local currency, the Zim dollar.
The tokens will be a form of electronic money backed by the country’s gold reserves, which will be held by the central bank. RBZ wants people holding Zim dollars to be able to exchange their money for the gold-backed token to help them hedge against the volatility of the local currency.
The Zim dollar is known for being volatile. A year ago, 1 U.S. dollar was worth about 150 Zim dollars, now it’s closer to 1,000, according to Investing.com. The country operates with both the Zim dollar and the U.S. dollar.
RBZ announced in August that it planned to create a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Other African countries have been exploring a CBDC; Nigeria launched its e-Naira in October 2021.