Zimbabwean exchange lists Ethereum, resumes Bitcoin trading

Rage Commentary : Zimbabwe's domestic foreign exchange gap and cross-border remittance problems have not been fully resolved by government policies, which has led to an increase in the country's Bitcoin trading volume and price. Golix.com, the country's only cryptocurrency trading platform, announced the listing of Ethereum and Bitcoin Gold. However, due to legalization issues, Bitcoin has not been included in the government's mobile payment data analysis.

Translation: Annie_Xu

Zimbabwe’s only cryptocurrency exchange, Golix.com, has listed Ethereum and Bitcoin Gold, making both digital assets available for trading in the country.

The exchange said in an email to traders and users, "We have now added Ethereum and Bitcoin Gold to the website." The Golix trading platform had already allowed Bitcoin trading, but traders' order books were suspended for two days after the platform's technical failure. Golix also said that the platform's trading platform has been restored. The platform said in an email to Bitcoin traders and platform users in the country, "We would like to inform you that Golix is ​​now operating normally."

Platform experts say bitcoin interest and trading in Zimbabwe are stable.

Bitcoin prices are surging around the world, nearly doubling their global average over the past few months.

The new measures announced by Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa will do little to ease the country's foreign exchange gap and process foreign exchange cross-border payments by companies and individuals, such as expanding the use of digital and plastic currencies and increasing foreign exchange through exports.

Golix said the two-day suspension of the exchange’s order book was intended to protect traders and holders from price volatility for a long period of time before the technical failure was finally resolved.

“We decided to cancel all pending orders to protect you from cryptocurrency price fluctuations. The fix took too long, but when fixing issues in production, it’s important that we take our time and be careful.”

Zimbabwean economists say the rise in bitcoin prices reflects skepticism about other domestic assets and the inability to send money abroad through formal channels.

The country’s banks were unable to complete international transactions in a timely manner, resulting in Golix processing $1 million in Bitcoin transactions in October. The government also said that mobile payments are on the rise, with the Posts and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe saying that mobile payment transactions reached $1.2 billion in the third quarter.

However, the data does not include the value of Bitcoin transactions as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) said the cryptocurrency is not yet legal and the bank is still studying the trading and use of Bitcoin in the country.