Last year Zimbabwe issued gold backed digital tokens, ZiG, and subsequently allowed them to be used as the official means of payment for local transactions. Now the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is using the ZiG brand as its new local currency to replace the Zimbabwean (Zim) dollar. It follows monthly inflation rates in the local currency surpassing 50% last month.
The original ZiG tokens are being renamed to gold-backed digital tokens (GBDT). So far it has issued 917 kilograms worth of GBDT worth around $69 million. The new currency is a physical one.
While the central bank plans to partly back the new ZiG with gold, it isn’t entirely. According to the central bank, “the structured currency being introduced is anchored by a composite basket of foreign currency and precious metals (mainly gold) held as reserves for this purpose by the Reserve Bank.”
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