Zimbabwe Is Seeking Comments on the Crypto Industry: Report

Zimbabwe is seeking comments on the crypto industry to establish policy for the sector, media outlets reported on Wednesday.

The government has set up a committee to consult operators in the digital asset space, and it wants comments by June 26.

Countries worldwide have been looking to understand crypto and regulate the nascent sector. South Africa recently started registering companies and Nigeria has been establishing how to approach crypto in recent years.

“In line with global trends and best practices, Zimbabwe is embarking on an exercise to assess and understand the cryptocurrency landscape,” the government said in a statement published in the state-run Herald newspaper Wednesday. It’s “inviting all cryptocurrency service providers,” whether operating inside or outside the country but providing services to people in Zimbabwe, to provide comments.

Zimbabwe does not rank as high as Nigeria in Chainalysis’s report that looks at the global crypto activity. Chainalysis places Zimbabwe’s overall index ranking at 103 and Nigeria in second place, and Kenya in 21. Zimbabwe does however surpass over 50 nations in its crypto use in the 2023 ranking.

It has also tried to use a gold-digital-backed token, called ZiG, to try and fix its economic problems.

CoinDesk reached out to Zimbabwe’s Securities and Exchange Commission and central bank for comment.

Update (June 12 09:53): Adds comment request line at the bottom.