Currently, the Zimbabwe gold-backed digital currency that was introduced in 2023, is in use as legal tender and a store of value alongside the Zimbabwean dollar and bond notes. According to state-owned media reports, the country’s central bank currently holds roughly 793kgs of gold in reserves valued at roughly $49 million at the current price with plans to grow reserves to around $100m.
As one of the largest markets for physical gold, the demand and supply dynamics in the SGE can have a ripple effect on global gold prices.
This week, the Shanghai Gold Price topped the $2,100 per ounce resistance, closing the year at a record breaking $2,118.20 per ounce, the highest price per ounce in history.
Earlier this year, the US Government hit a new milestone. The amount of government debt in the United States has grown to exceed $33.88 Trillion as a result of overspending by elected officials. The growing U.S. government debt is a complex issue with significant implications for American citizens and taxpayers.
When trade happens in many different currencies, you have high costs of arbitrage of exchange rates between countries. When approaching dedollarization, central banks and countries need to simultaneously consider the fluctuations of national currencies of different countries.
Collectively, BRICS countries encompass over 40% of the world’s population and account for roughly 26% of the world’s GDP, representing a substantial share of global trade.
Unlike commodity money like gold or silver, which have intrinsic value, fiat money has no inherent value. Its value is solely based on the trust and confidence that people have in the issuing government. If that trust wanes, the value of fiat currency can be at risk and individuals and everyday workers will continue to see the purchasing power of the dollar diminish over the years. It can impact the ability to save for the future and plan for retirement.
Banking giant UBS says demand for gold from central banks around the world is likely to surge this year as countries continue to back away from the US dollar in favor of local currency and alternative currencies that are not subject to foreign government sanctions and the weaponization. In a new report titled Three Reasons … Read moreUBS Issues Report on Central Bank Gold Buying
The Securities and Exchange Commission launched another attack on crypto exchanges Coinbase and Binance this week, a move that had been expected. Given the overlap with the timeline of the Federal Reserve forcing banks across the country to implement FedNow as part of the backbone of an ongoing effort to implement a central bank digital currency.
The token’s initial offering is backed by 140 kilogram gold bars that have been allocated from central bank reserves
The offering from Zimbabwe is causing a ruckus with the IMF that is reminiscent of the outrage posited against El Salvador when it established bitcoin as a legal currency and began issuing bitcoin bonds.
Zimbabwe has had a long history of economic instability. From 2004 until 2009 the country experienced five years of hyperinflation.
More than ten years later, the economy is Zimbabwe is still in shambles. The Zimbabwe dollar was reintroduced in 2019. More periods of high inflation quickly followed.
The notion of sales tax on precious metals investing is a contentious issue to some and represents a line in the sand between some legislators and investors. Despite the long history of gold and silver being recognized as money, many states continue to tax their citizens for the privilege of owning these metals.