Zimbabwe Dumps Crypto for Gold: A $3B Coin Plan to Save Its Economy?

Zimbabwe shifts from failed digital tokens to gold coins, aiming to stabilize its currency. Is this a game-changer?

May 11, 2025 - 15:51
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Zimbabwe Dumps Crypto for Gold: A $3B Coin Plan to Save Its Economy?
Zimbabwe is taking a bold step backward to move forward. On April 30, 2025, the country announced a revival of physical gold coins to support its struggling currency, the ZiG, which has lost 65% of its value against the US dollar this year, according to Bloomberg. This comes after its gold-backed digital tokens, launched in 2023, failed to curb economic chaos, as reported by crypto.news. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is now banking on gold’s tangible value, with prices hitting record highs above $3,380 per ounce, to restore confidence.
Why the switch? Zimbabwe’s digital token experiment flopped due to low adoption and skepticism, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warning it wouldn’t solve the root issue: a misaligned exchange rate. Physical gold coins, already sold by banks like Nedbank Zimbabwe, are seen as a safer bet for citizens battered by hyperinflation—past bills from 2007-2008 reached trillions of ZiG. The RBZ hopes to leverage gold’s global appeal as a “safe-haven” asset, a trend echoed by Bitcoin’s “digital gold” narrative, which has driven BTC past $100,000 recently.
What’s the impact? For new investors, this highlights the limits of digital solutions in unstable economies. If successful, Zimbabwe’s $3 billion gold coin push could inspire other nations to blend traditional assets with modern finance, potentially denting crypto’s appeal in emerging markets. However, gold coins won’t fix systemic issues like black-market trading, and their high cost may exclude ordinary citizens, deepening inequality. Global trade tensions, like US-China tariff talks, could also spike gold demand, affecting Zimbabwe’s plan.
What should you do? Watch how gold and crypto react to global shifts, but diversify to manage risks. Economic fixes are rarely this simple.
Will gold save Zimbabwe’s economy? Share your thoughts below and follow trafy.io for more updates!
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NOTICE: The information provided on trafy.io does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investment and trading activities involve risks, and readers are advised to conduct their own research before making decisions.