Zimbabwe launches gold-backed digital currency

Zimbabwe has launched digital currency as a new payment option for citizens. The new gold-backed digital tokens are seen as alternative to the US dollar, and as an effort by the government to shore up the country’s own faltering currency. The official rate is around 1,000 Zimbabwean dollars for $1, but it can sell at almost double the price in the illegal market.

Happi Zengeni-Manyere is a financial journalist and economic analyst in Zimbabwe. She describes how the digital currency will work and whether it can bring economic and financial stability.

(Photo: A shopper holds wads of Zimbabwean dollars to pay for a loaf of bread. Credit: Getty Images.)