Zimbabwean ZiG

The ZiG currency was announced on 5 April 2024, taking the name from ZiG digital tokens, which are now available as GBDT. The ZiG is Zimbabwe's sixth attempt since 2008 at creating a new currency that will make it independent of the US dollar. Since the currency crisis of 2008–2009, Zimbabwe has a multi-currency system. It was introduced in 2009 after the hyperinflation of the fourth Zimbabwean dollar (ZWL). For ten years there was no Zimbabwean currency. However in February 2019 the government introduced the Zimdollar (ZWL) on par with the US dollar, but it was quickly devalued to $2.50 Zimdollars per US-dollar. Briefly, from June 2019 to March 2020, the government required all transactions to be done in Zimdollars; but that quickly proved impractical. Legal use of foreign currencies was restored and they remain legal tender. By April 2024, the value of the Zimdollar (the RTGS Dollar) had decreased so much that the exchange rate was $30,000 Zimdollars per US dollar officially, and even more on the black market. At that time, U.S. dollars accounted for four-fifths of all transactions. By November 2025, the value of 1 USD was 26.36 Zim Gold (ZWG), also known as ZiG. ==History==

In discussions the government of Zimbabwe decided to issue a new currency backed by gold reserves, the ZiG. Originally established at 2.50 ZiG to one USD, the ZiG began trading on 8 April 2024 at an exchange rate of 13.56 ZiG to one USD. Since its launch, the proportion of transactions conducted in USD has declined from 85% to 70%. However, market forces have caused even the government to fail to switch to the new currency. Gift Mugano, a visiting professor of economics at the University of Zimbabwe Business School, said, "The government is [still] refusing its own money to pay for passports, fuel and other services." By October 2024, after the first six months of trading, the ZiG had officially lost half its value (27 ZiG to 1 USD), but suffered a seventy-five percent loss on the unregulated market (50 ZiG to 1 USD). In response, in late September the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe tightened monetary policies with the effect of temporarily halting further depreciation. However over the next six months the value of the ZiG continued to drop on the unregulated market, so that by the end of February 2025 it was only 5% of its original value. This was despite the fact that the price of gold rose by 24% since the gold-backed ZiG was issued in April 2024, However, since the central bank tightened monetary policy in October 2024, the monthly inflation rate in Zimbabwe, both in terms of the US dollar and the ZiG, in February 2025 had dropped to 0.5% for ZiG and 0.2% for US dollars. ==Coins and banknotes==

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, over the weekend of 6 to 7 April 2024, released the currency features. Coins The coins came in several forms: 1 ZiG, 2 ZiG, 5 ZiG. They were introduced on 30 April 2024, along with the banknotes. There are plans to introduce also coins for ZiG, ZiG, and ZiG as well. Banknotes of the same denominations will not be released. Banknotes 2024 series 2026 series ==Conversions==

Exchange rates The Zimbabwean dollar (ZWL) lost about 32% value on interbank in two-day trading, moving from 22,950 to 33,903 per U.S. dollar. The conversion to ZiG was based on gold price and swap rate. On a press release dated 6 April 2024, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe announced that ZWL would be converted to ZiG at an exchange rate of 2498.7242 ZWL for one ZiG. Zimbabweans were given 21 days to convert their cash into ZiG. The ZiG started trading on 8 April 2024 with an exchange rate of 13.56 ZiG per US dollar and was subsequently allowed to freely float. As a result of inflation, on 27 September 2024, the RBZ devalued the ZiG (ZWG) by 42.55% against the US dollar (1 USD = 26.36 ZiG (ZWG)). In the month of September 2024, consumer prices rose by 37.2% in ZiG terms, compared to just 0.7% in USD terms during the same period. This was compared to a 5.8% rise in ZiG prices over the course of the month before (August). Zimswitch and banks All banks and financial institutions were instructed to convert all ZWL balances, obligations, and accounts to the new currency, ZiG. ==See also==