Zimbabwe Cracks Down on Cryptocurrency Businesses with Annual Registration Fees

Zimbabwe's government has introduced its first dedicated regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, requiring businesses to register annually and pay fees.

The move aims to bring the country's largely informal crypto market under regulatory oversight. According to Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube, companies that buy, sell, transfer or safeguard virtual assets must register each year with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), an anti-money laundering body housed within the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

The registration process will cost $500 per year, and operating without it is now considered an offense. The rules do not lift a 2018 ban that barred banks from handling cryptocurrency, but instead built on it by creating a registration structure for the informal market.

Zimbabwe's crypto adoption is driven by its hyperinflation history, which wiped out savings and pensions in the late 2000s and eroded trust in the banking system. The country's monetary instability has also fueled demand for digital assets as alternative stores of value and a way to move money outside the formal financial system.