The information and Broadcasting Minister of Zimbabwe, Monica Mutsvangwa, has recently clarified that the government is not planning to adopt Bitcoin anytime soon. During the last week, a rumor was spread in the cryptocurrency market and social media community that the government of Zimbabwe is considering investing its national reserves in Bitcoin.
The source of this rumor was Charles Wekwete. Wekwete is the advisor to the presiding president of the country. Some of the native media outlets in the region published news about Wekwete contacting private sector organizations that deal in cryptocurrency to help the government make the transition. However, a recent tweet and statement issued from the ministry of Zimbabwe have put these rumors to rest.
Zimbabwe is Working on CBDC Project
While information minister Monica Mutsvangwa has clarified that the state does not have any immediate plans to invest in Bitcoin or promote cryptocurrency trading in the region, there is still hope for digital investors. She further added that the state has been looking into the prospect of CBDC in the same fashion as other countries.
Mutsvangwa explained during a recent cabinet address that the state has been pondering upon the idea of a new CBDC project. She said that the only legal tender of the country is going to remain Zimbabwe dollar rather than any other type of form of cryptocurrency. She also claimed that the state prefers CBDC over Bitcoin or any of its derivatives available in the market.
There are many countries in Africa where having a bank account for the majority of the population is not common. Therefore, a recent spike in the use of cryptocurrencies has been witnessed in several African countries. One such example is Ghana, where the government has become the leading nation to conduct regular experiments with the Central Bank Digital Currency or CBDC.
The Central Bank of Ghana is currently working on the development of a digital wallet called e-cedi. With the use of this novel wallet, the citizens of the Ghana Republic will be able to conduct offline transactions. The Ghana government hopes to increase the amount of financial inclusion with this new initiative and plans to issue a card attached to the e-cedi wallet that people without access to the internet and electricity can also use.