Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor John Mangudya said that gold-backed digital tokens that were introduced last week are working well as 140 kilogrammes of the tokens valued at more than ZWL$14 billion were taken up by the market.
The central bank says it has sold 31 866 Mosi-oa-Tunya gold coins since their introduction last year for ZWL$25.8 billion.
Mangudya told <a href="https://www.sundaymail.co.zw/rbz-confident-of-price-stability">The Sunday Mail</a> that the huge demand for gold coins and digital tokens could help remove excess liquidity and stabilise the Zimbabwe dollar. He said:
<blockquote>
The purpose of digital gold tokens, just like the physical gold coins, is to store value, act as an investment tool and mop up excess liquidity from the market.
The reason the parallel market exchange rate goes up is that we are a dual-currency economy.
In a dual-currency economy, where there is a local currency and the US dollar, many will obviously find the US dollar as the most attractive.
By providing digital gold tokens, we are saying do not go to the parallel market, but store value in the coins and tokens, which are known worldwide as a store of value.
Therefore, it is working very well, because the demand for the gold coins is higher than the supply, while the electronic version is actually working very well.
About $14 billion was used to purchase digital gold tokens.
That money could have gone into the parallel market but was not channeled there and was used to buy digital gold tokens. So, it is working.
</blockquote>
The gold tokens are being introduced in two phases.
The first phase entails issuing gold tokens with a vesting period of 180 days for investment purposes.
The second phase involves issuing gold-backed digital tokens held in either e-gold wallets or e-gold cards being tradable and capable of facilitating person-to-person transactions.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

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Digital Gold Tokens Working Well - Mangudya

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor John Mangudya has announced the introduction of gold-backed digital tokens to be used “both as a means of payment and a store of value.”
In a statement on Friday, Mangudya said the gold-backed digital tokens will be introduced in two phases, starting on 08 May 2023.
He said tokens will be available for sale, through banks, in both foreign currency and Zimbabwe dollars. Reads the statement:
<blockquote>
Pursuant to the resolution of the Monetary Policy Committee (the MPC) on 28 March 2023 to complement the issuance of physical gold coins with gold-backed digital products, the Bank wishes to advise that it will be issuing gold-backed digital tokens with effect from 8 May 2023.
The gold-backed tokens will be fully backed by physical gold held by the Bank.
As previously advised, the issuance of 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.
The issuance and usage of the gold-backed digital tokens shall be in two phases as follows:
<ol>
<li>Phase 1: Gold-backed digital tokens will be issued for investment purposes with a vesting period of 180 days and redeemable in the same way as the existing physical gold coins. 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 wallets or e-gold cards). 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.</li>
<li>Phase 2: The gold-backed digital tokens held in either e-gold wallets or e-gold cards will be tradable and capable of facilitating Person-to-Person (P2P) and Person-to- Business (P2B) 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.</li>
</ol>
The Bank also advises that the pricing of the gold-backed digital tokens in foreign currency shall remain the same as the pricing model of the physical gold coins as informed or guided by the international gold price as determined by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) PM fix.
Payment for the gold-backed digital tokens or physical gold coins in Zimbabwe dollar shall remain at the current 20% margin above the willing-buyer willing-seller interbank mid- rate.
</blockquote>
More: <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

RBZ To Introduce Gold-backed Digital Tokens On 8 May

The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) said that its electricity token purchase system is currently down.
In a statement issued on Saturday afternoon, ZETDC, a subsidiary of ZESA Holdings, said the challenge is affecting its customers countrywide. ZETDC said:
<blockquote>
We would like to advise you that our electricity token purchase system is currently down.
Our team is working flat out to ensure the restoration of service. The inconvenience caused is sincerely regretted.
</blockquote>
ZETDC, however, did not give the timeframe for when its electricity token purchase system is expected to be up and running again.
More: <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

ZESA Electricity Token Purchase System Down

Following outrage from customers after the minimum purchase for electricity tokens via EcoCash was made $10, the minimum has now been reduced to $5. However, other platforms are still offering a minimum purchase of $2. In a notice, EcoCash said,
<blockquote>ZETDC tokens NOW accessible via EcoCash
The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company electricity token system on EcoCash is now working. Customers are now able to buy ZESA tokens via EcoCash.
The minimum value you can buy your ZESA token on EcoCash has been increased to $10 to improve system efficiency. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused and we will keep you informed of any further developments.</blockquote>

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