According to Cointelegraph: The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has officially started utilizing its gold-backed digital token, Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), as a payment method. This initiative was first introduced in April 2023, with every issued ZiG token supported by a specific amount of physical gold stored in the bank's reserves.
After an effective issuance of physical gold tokens last year, RBZ's new initiative represents the next step in their innovative approach to stabilizing the economy. The goal of the physical coins and the newly minted ZiG is to encourage local investors towards the national asset, moving away from the U.S dollar - a challenging task in a nation grappling with triple-digit inflation.
Backing these efforts, the RBZ Governor, Dr. John Mangudya stated, "The issuance of the gold-backed digital tokens is designed to expand the value-preserving instruments available in the economy and enhance the investment instruments' divisibility. It also aims to widen their accessibility and usage by the Zimbabwean public."
The versatile ZiG tokens can be secured in either e-gold wallets or e-gold cards and can be employed for both peer-to-peer and business transactions.
With the backing of gold reserves determining its trading value, one could purchase one ounce of ZiG for $1,910 or 0.1 ounce for $191. The bank recently confirmed that in September, investors bought the equivalent of 17.65 kg in ZiG using both Zimbabwean and American dollars. This brings the total ZiG sales since its initial rounds to approximately 350 kg of gold.
This innovative approach arrives as a hopeful solution to Zimbabwe's long-standing economic woes, marred by currency instability and escalating inflation. Despite the U.S. dollar being adopted as the official currency in 2009, the resurgence of volatility followed the reintroduction of its own currency in 2019, emphasizing the dire need for solutions like ZiG.