Zimbabwe requires crypto firms to register with central bank

Regulations signed by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube require companies that buy, sell, transfer or safeguard cryptocurrencies to register annually with the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. Initial registration costs $500 and renewals cost $400. Failure to register can lead to criminal charges.

The Financial Intelligence Unit, the central bank's anti‑money‑laundering arm, will act as the formal regulatory gateway for crypto activity. The rules maintain a 2018 prohibition on banks and other regulated financial institutions handling cryptocurrencies, and establish a registration route for exchanges, custodians and other crypto service providers.

Service providers must renew their registration each year and comply with anti‑money‑laundering rules under the new regulations. The measures create a formal channel alongside the informal peer‑to‑peer and social‑media trading that developed after the earlier bank prohibition.

Demand for cryptocurrencies in Zimbabwe has roots in the late‑2000s hyperinflation that wiped out many savings and in repeated currency changes that reduced public trust in banks. Remittances and the high cost of some formal cross‑border payment channels have also contributed to use of digital tokens for transfers and stores of value.

Across Sub‑Saharan Africa, on‑chain value exceeded $205 billion between July 2024 and June 2025, a 52% increase year‑over‑year.

Several other African countries have established licensing or registration regimes for crypto providers. South Africa supervises virtual asset service providers through its financial conduct regulator. Nigeria places oversight with its securities regulator and in 2024 licensed at least one local exchange while imposing large local capital or deposit requirements. Kenya's Virtual Asset Service Providers Act divides supervision between the central bank and the capital markets regulator and has published draft operating rules.

Zimbabwe's $500 initial registration fee is lower than the capital or deposit thresholds required in some other markets. The government has not published detailed guidance on enforcement timelines or the technical steps for prospective registrants.

Harare trader Jeffrey Mutambiranwa welcomed the regulations as ‘a welcome development' that will let traders operate openly rather than underground.

The regulations place oversight responsibility with the Reserve Bank's Financial Intelligence Unit and establish the first dedicated legal framework governing crypto firms in Zimbabwe.