Zimbabwe’s central bank on Monday launched its gold-backed digital token in a move aimed at expanding the store of value available in the economy, increasing investment tools and making money markets more accessible to the public.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) said the digital token will be redeemable in the same way as existing gold, sold through banks in local and foreign currencies. The central bank said it expects banks to create dedicated accounts to hold the tokens, which are often referred to as e-gold wallets or e-gold cards. Holders of physical gold coins can redeem or convert them into gold-backed digital tokens at their discretion through the banking system.

Earlier news, the Central Bank of Zimbabwe will begin selling gold-backed digital currencies to investors, and set the minimum subscription price for individuals at $10 and the minimum subscription price for enterprises and other entities at $5,000. These tokens will be sold in US dollars and local currencies, but the local currency should be 20% higher than the middle rate between voluntary buying and selling banks. The bid offer will start on May 8 and end two days later. (Voazimbabwe)