Zimbabwe is forcing crypto businesses to register and pay annual fees, bringing a market shaped by hyperinflation, remittances and distrust in banks under formal oversight.
The government said Friday that businesses involved in buying, selling, transferring or safeguarding crypto must register annually with the Financial Intelligence Unit, an anti-money laundering body housed inside the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Reuters reported.
The rules, issued by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube, set the annual registration fee at $500. Operating without registration is now an offense.
- The move gives Zimbabwe its first dedicated crypto rulebook after years of legal gray area.
- The country banned financial institutions from trading crypto in 2018, which pushed traders toward peer-to-peer platforms, WhatsApp groups and other informal channels.
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Why crypto grew anyway
Zimbabwe's crypto use has a local history. Hyperinflation in the late 2000s wiped out savings and pensions, while repeated currency changes weakened public trust in the banking system.
That helped drive demand for Bitcoin and other crypto as alternative stores of value and ways to move money outside formal channels.
- And Zimbabwe isn't moving alone. South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Mauritius have also moved to regulate crypto as African adoption rises.
Sub-Saharan Africa received more than $205 billion in crypto value between July 2024 and June 2025, up roughly 52% from the previous year, according to Chainalysis data.