According to ChainCatcher, citing Reuters, Zimbabwe’s finance minister Mthuli Ncube has issued new rules for cryptocurrency businesses. Under the rules, all crypto businesses engaged in buying and selling virtual assets, transferring them, or providing custody services must register every year with the Financial Intelligence Unit, or FIU, the anti-money-laundering agency under the central bank.
The new framework also requires those businesses to pay an annual fee of $500. Operating without registration will be considered illegal. The rules apply to virtual asset trading, transfers and custody, and introduce a dedicated regulatory requirement for a local crypto market that had long operated without a specific legal framework. Much of that activity has taken place through over-the-counter channels and social media.
Zimbabwe previously banned financial institutions from participating in cryptocurrency transactions in 2018. Amid hyperinflation and repeated currency reforms, residents turned to digital assets such as Bitcoin as well as cross-border remittances, which helped drive a surge in crypto usage. The annual registration and fee requirement is described as the country’s first dedicated regulatory rule for the crypto market.