HARARE, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) announced on Friday that gold-backed digital tokens will be introduced into the market on May 8 as another store of value as the Zimbabwean dollar continues to depreciate.
RBZ Governor John Mangudya said in a notice that the gold-backed tokens would be fully backed by physical gold held in the bank.
"As previously advised, the issuance of the gold-backed digital tokens is meant to expand the value-preserving instruments available in the economy and enhance divisibility of the investment instruments and widen their access and usage by the public," he said.
He added that the issuance of the tokens would be done in two phases.
Under Phase 1, the tokens will be issued for investment purposes with a vesting period of 180 days and will be redeemable in the same way as gold coins, which were introduced in mid-2022 as a store of value.
"The tokens will be available for sale, through banks, in both foreign currency and Zimbabwe dollar. Banks will create dedicated or specific accounts for the holding of the gold-backed digital tokens (e-gold cards)," said Mangudya. "Holders of physical gold coins, at their discretion, will be able to exchange or convert, through the banking system, the physical gold coins into gold-backed digital tokens."
The second phase will entail that the tokens held in either e-gold wallets or e-gold cards will be tradable and capable of facilitating person-to-person and person-to-business transactions and settlements.
"It, therefore, means that the gold-backed digital tokens would be used both as a means of payment and a store of value," he said.
Mangudya also advised that the pricing of the tokens in foreign currency would remain the same as that of the physical gold coins as informed and guided by the international gold price as determined by the London Bullion Market Association.
"Payment for the gold-backed digital tokens or physical gold coins in Zimbabwe dollar shall remain at the current 20 percent margin above the willing-buyer willing-seller interbank mid-rate," he said.
