Zimbabwe will soon introduce a gold-backed digital currency as a part of its efforts to stabilize the country’s local currency, the Sunday Mail reported on April 23.

John Mangudya, Governor of The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), told the press that introduction of the digital gold tokens will represent the first step towards using the nation’s gold reserves to anchor the Zimbabwe dollar.

Those holding small amounts of Zimbabwe dollars will be allowed to exchange their money for tokens in a bid to store value and hedge against volatility of the exchange rate, the report said. The digital gold tokens are expected to complement the country’s Mosi-oa-Tunya gold coins by offering an alternative investment avenue to store value.

Zimbabwe abandoned its own currency in 2009, and replaced it with the US dollar. In 2019, the Zimbabwe dollar was reintroduced as the southern African country attempted to revive its sluggish economy, but it ended up making the US dollar its legal tender.

-Photo: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe / Unsplash