Speculation about Zimbabwe as the second country after El Salvador to allow Bitcoin (BTC) as a legitimate tender is finally over. On Tuesday yesterday, there were reports stating confirmation that the Zimbabwean state government was negotiating with the private market to implement crypto payment services legally.
This has caused controversy and concern among the community. To avoid any untoward things, the Zimbabwean government denies all such reports claiming the country will legalize crypto as a legitimate tender. The government clarified that the Zimbabwean dollar will remain the only legal tender in the country.
Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Monica Mutsvangwa after a parliamentary session on Tuesday issued a statement saying,
“The government wants to assure the country that they are not considering introducing other currencies in the economy as reported by some media. Our local currency is the Zimbabwean dollar, and not a crypto asset. However, currently the Government of Zimbabwe, through its Financial Technology Group, is studying the Central Bank's crypto versus crypto assets, bitcoin or any form of derivative, ”he said.
Speculation about allowing crypto assets began with the country’s finance minister suggesting that they should not ignore the hotly debated market.
Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube in an earlier interview mentioned that crypto assets can be controlled as an asset class but not as a valid tender. He mentioned that the national treasury does not see anything wrong with exploring cases of use of different crypto assets in the current financial markets.
In other words, Zimbabwe is more interested in making it a payment alternative yet in an asset class.
