Zimbabwe’s finance minister discussed at length the benefits of cryptocurrencies in the payments industry.
Zimbabwe’s Minister of Finance, Mthuli Ncube, advocated for cryptocurrencies following a visit to the DMCC Crypto Center in Dubai. He acknowledged the ease of use that crypto presents, noting that solutions based on crypto would go a long way in reducing the costs incurred to facilitate remittances from abroad.
“I visited the DMCC CRYPTO CENTER in Dubai which is a fascinating incubation center for cryptocurrencies and payment solutions. I discovered solutions that could reduce the costs associated with diaspora remittances ”, tweeted the Zimbabwean minister.
While many only saw the benefits Zimbabwe could reap from adopting cryptocurrencies, some social media users have called for caution. An user asserted that the country’s banks were notorious foreign exchange manipulators and that the adoption of cryptocurrency could cause the Zimbabwean dollar to collapse.
“When the banks stop manipulating the forex exchange rate, then maybe the RBZ can consider cryptocurrency. Otherwise, it will lead to a massive crash of the ZWL ”.
Nor did Minister Ncube seem to have a real sense of what is happening on the ground in Zimbabwe. Members of the cryptocurrency community were quick to point out that there were already cryptocurrency startups out there to realize the cryptocurrency solutions he advocated. Flexfintx CEO Victor Mapunga reported to the Minister the existence of these startups.
“We already have blockchain & crypto companies in Zim like @Flex_Tx, work with local players”.
a report de Techzim also appeared to suggest that the minister was uninformed about crypto issues in Zimbabwe. The report questions the need to seek solutions in the United Arab Emirates when the country already has startups such as Zimbo Cash, Uhuru Wallet and Dystater that offer faster and cheaper crypto solutions to simplify cross-border funds transfer. .
At the time of his appointment in 2018, Ncube became a strong advocate for cryptocurrencies. He pushed for the use of these digital assets to help Zimbabwe’s failing financial system. At the time, the Minister of Finance had offers that Zimbabwe follow Switzerland’s path by adopting crypto solutions.
Noting the importance of innovation, he said that more often than not, central banks lag behind in exploring these technologies. He promised to push the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to create a crypto division to invest in Bitcoin and understand it. This, he explained, would help the country’s major banks understand digital assets.
Adopting cryptocurrency could go a long way towards stabilizing Zimbabwe’s economy. The cryptocurrency’s store of value would arguably defeat the extreme levels of inflation and economic turmoil in the country.
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