The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) designated the minimum purchase price for gold-backed digital assets — $10 for individuals and $5,000 for corporates.
Sales are set to commence on May 8 and will run for two days.
The tokens will be traded in pairs with the US dollar and the local currency. In trades denominated in the ZWL, the price of the ‘gold-backed crypto asset’ will be 20% above the average interbank rate.
On 24 April, RBZ announced plans to launch a gold-backed digital currency. The asset is intended to become the new legal tender to stabilise the economy.
According to the bank’s head, volatility of the ZWL drives local residents to convert the currency into foreign assets.
A year ago, one Zimbabwean dollar was equivalent to $150. According to data from Investing.com, at the time of writing the currency of the African country was 1079 times weaker than the US dollar.
Zimbabwe has battled inflation for more than a decade. After the 2009 crisis the country adopted the US dollar. The ZWL was reintroduced in 2019 in an attempt to revive the economy. However, the government later reverted to using the US dollar to curb price growth.
In December 2021, the Swiss bank SEBA launched a gold-backed token, which allows investors to own a digital form of the precious metal through a fully regulated, economical and forward-looking solution.
In February 2022, Japanese trading house Mitsui announced a gold-backed stablecoin.
Later, U.S. Senators proposed launching a gold-backed digital currency for the state of Texas.