Bitcoin (BTC) is a tool for freedom and economic empowerment. For one young Zimbabwean, Ovidy, it turned his life around when he returned to his home country at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. An entrepreneur who first learned of Bitcoin while living in the United States, Ovidy has since built a business with Bitcoin at its core. Below, Ovidy (center) is pictured with Paco the Bitcoin traveler (left): Day 276 Obidy imports cars in Zimbabwe using #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/Y2TmZZX6Bv — Paco de la India⚡ (@RunwithBitcoin) June 20, 2022 Ovidy imports cars using Bitcoin. “I really like to import BMWs,” he …

Zimbabwe's Minister of Information publicly dismissed ongoing rumors about the country considering the adoption of cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin (BTC). Rather, Minister Monica Mutsvangwa clarified that the government of Zimbabwe is keen to experiment with a central banking digital currency (CBDC). The rumor about Zimbabwe’s crypto adoption was sparked based on numerous reports quoting Charles Wekwete, Permanent Secretary of the President’s office, saying that the government was in talks with the private sector businesses to help introduce cryptocurrency in the country. Just one day after the reports, Mutsvangwa took to a cabinet briefing to dismiss the ongoing crypto adoption claims: “Government …

Zimbabwe has been paying attention to the increasing demand for crypto among its people, which it views as a possible avenue for growth. The country has also been receptive to regulating the entire sector. Zimbabwe's government is considering utilizing Bitcoin as a legal payment option to meet this growing demand and harness the technology, according to local news. According to the news, retired Brigadier Colonel Charles Wekwete, the Permanent Secretary and Head of the Office of the President and Cabinet's e-government Technology Unit, confirmed that discussions with businesses are already underway. According to Wekwete, the disadvantages of the decentralized ecosystem …

As technological innovations continue to spread across Africa, the continent could provide some unique use cases for blockchain technology. African has been continually driving innovation in a number of spaces, with mobile payments a prime example of the potential for technology to drastically improve the lives of everyday Africans. While many countries in Africa are still considered to be developing economies, some of its most prominent states have been at the forefront of technological innovation. The use of blockchain technology is becoming part of the equation as it permeates different industries and institutions. Michelle Chivunga, CEO and founder of digital …

Sub-Saharan Africa has no doubt suffered many regulatory setbacks in adopting cryptocurrencies. With most countries in the region struggling not to buckle under economic uncertainties and pressures looming over them even as the ripple effects of COVID-19 set in, it would appear that many Africans, especially millennials, aren’t waiting for the government anymore. The main issue inhibiting regulation seems to be a combination of resistance and indecision both from regulators, which has majorly been a result of little or no understanding of cryptocurrencies. Speaking to Cointelegraph on the attitude of regulatory bodies in Africa toward cryptocurrencies, Andrew Nevin, partner and …

A project developing a national decentralized currency network in Zimbabwe has received a big boost with the listing of its Zimbocash (ZASH) token on the Bithumb Global exchange. According to a May 22 report in the Zimbabwe Independent, the listing will enable the currency to grow substantially, providing a sound-money alternative to the crumbling Zimbabwean Dollar. Coronavirus adds to Zimbabwe’s economic woes The Zimbabwean economy already faces a crisis, with an inflation rate of around 500%. As Cointelegraph reported, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe was earlier this year considering a fintech sandbox, whilst also focusing on stabilizing the local currency. …

With pundits like Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey predicting that Africa “will define” the future of Bitcoin (BTC), cryptocurrency and blockchain technology continue to attract interest from both public and private establishments across the continent. Many of these adoption cases have been moving beyond finance, developing solutions targeted at issues like unemployment, identity management, health care and supply chain, among others. Amid the growing enthusiasm for crypto and blockchain technology in Africa, industry stakeholders interviewed by Cointelegraph identify a lack of education as one of the major hurdles standing in the way of more broad-based utilization of the technology. The absence …

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the country’s central bank, is considering a regulatory sandbox for crypto companies in an apparent change from its previous anti-cryptocurrency stance. The proposed sandbox is reportedly part of a broader agenda by authorities in Zimbabwe to revamp the nation’s financial sector, which has seen massive hyperinflation since 2007. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s government is also partnering with Apollo Fintech to develop a gold-backed cryptocurrency for the country. The collaboration is expected to allow Zimbabweans to have access to the Apollo wallet for digital-currency payments. Despite the government’s 2018 crypto ban, peer-to-peer trading of cryptocurrencies continues to thrive …

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is reportedly developing a regulatory sandbox for cryptocurrency companies in the country. The news was reported on March 16 by local newspaper Chronicle, citing a representative from the bank speaking at a conference on March 13. Chronicle reports that RBZ’s deputy director for financial markets and national payment systems, Josephat Mutepfa, revealed that the bank is working on a regulatory framework that would see companies involved with cryptocurrency go through a special regulatory sandbox. The sandbox will reportedly help the bank decide if a particular company can be allowed to operate independently. Speaking at …

When thinking of countries that are ahead of the curve in crypto adoption, Turkey might not be the first place that springs to mind. However, Statistica's Global Consumer Survey for 2019 shows that a fifth Turkish residents are acquainted with crypto and have been exposed to it in some form or another. If the figures are true, 20% is the highest proportion of all the countries in the world. Flying under the radar, Turkey has undoubtedly become a crypto giant, and with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently announcing that testing of the digital lira is to be finalized in 2020, …

Tawanda Kembo, the founder and CEO of the Zimbabwean cryptocurrency exchange Golix, claims to have lost the password to one of the exchange’s Bitcoin (BTC) cold wallets. On Nov. 1, local news daily iHare reported that the CEO of Zimbabwe’s first cryptocurrency exchange allegedly lost the password in May of last year. IHare wrote that the “password fiasco” was confirmed by two separate sources familiar with the matter. CEO loses access to 33 Bitcoins The story of the lost password follows reports that financial regulators at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe ordered the exchange to shut down its operations for …

Bitcoin (BTC) trading in Zimbabwe has continued to surge after the government banned the use of foreign currencies on June 24, business news agency Quartz Africa reported on July 10. The country is reportedly seeing a rise in peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto trading. There are no local exchanges offering cryptocurrency transactions due to the existing ban on providing such services enacted by Zimbabwe’s central bank in May 2018. Since Zimbabwe recently re-introduced its local currency, the Zimbabwe dollar (ZWD), after abandoning it in 2009, Bitcoin has apparently become a more attractive store of value than the new fiat currency, associated as …