This is not the first time an African country leader comes out to refute cryptocurrencies. John Mangudya , governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is added to this list when he stated that his organization is interested in developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). However, the central bank does not believe in cryptocurrency.
According to Bloomberg, Mangudya made these remarks during an interview with Trevor Ncube, a well-known Zimbabwean journalist. In words that appeared to be a reiteration of the government’s previously proclaimed position on digital currency, Mangudya offered the central bank’s thoughts on how it expects to follow in the footsteps of other governments that have rolled out CBDCs.
“We don’t believe in cryptocurrency as a central bank. We believe in central bank digital money, which is essentially attempting to answer the question of “how can we have an e-Zimbabwe dollar instead of cryptocurrencies.” – he stated
A Zimbabwean government official confirmed in November that his agency is gathering information on CBDCs and cryptocurrencies, as previously reported. The official’s remarks stoked speculation that Zimbabwe will adopt cryptocurrencies. These reports were eventually denied by the country’s information minister.
According to the story, rather than adopting cryptocurrencies, the RBZ would send a team to Nigeria, the first African country to install a CBDC. The team will learn from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) experiences with the e-naira rollout, according to the story.
Aside from the upcoming trip to Nigeria, Mangudya believes that the RBZ already has a fintech team that is hard at work. The central bank’s aim, according to the governor, is to ensure that the RBZ does not fall behind other central banks in building their own CBDCs.