The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange CEO Justin Bgoni recently revealed that in the long-term they plan to list cryptocurrencies on the ZSE and the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX).
As part of our long term strategy, the ZSE is open for bitcoin and cryptocurrencies to be listed on the bourse subject to regulatory approvals. We think though that VFEX will be a better platform for this.
Justin Bgoni
Without regulation in the Cryptocurrency space, in sight Bgoni’s statement was simply a hypothetical scenario. At the time of writing the government’s stance on cryptos is up in the air.
Back in 2018, the regulator went on a war path with Golix – a prominent local crypto exchange – and the outcome of that battle was a quasi-ban on cryptos. It is fair to note that since that ban the RBZ has softened quite a bit on cryptos;
- A few months after the ban, the Finance Minister announced that the RBZ should invest more in understanding Cryptocurrencies;
- A year later, the RBZ announced a National Fintech Steering Community that would work on regulating the new financial technologies including Cryptos.
Not much has actually happened on the ground which won’t be encouraging for the ZSE or anyone else with eyes for crypto but it is better than where we were a few years ago.
The fact that a number of cryptocurrencies and exchanges have popped up locally is also a good reflection of the RBZs toned down aggression.
Earlier this year, ZIMBOCASH opened up their payments portal making their digital currency usable for transactions – if the currency holder and receiver agreed on the value. The RBZ didn’t pounce on ZIMBOCASH or other smaller exchanges that popped up since the dismantling of Golix.
Ultimately, ZSE has been on an interesting path – from launching an online training site for first-time investors to setting up a platform for investors to trade online. Under their new CEO, the stock exchange hasn’t been afraid to venture in new waters and so it’s not too surprising that cryptos aren’t off the table at ZSE.
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