Zimbabwe Mandates Crypto Firm Registration Under New Regulatory Rules – Here’s What You Should Know

What to Know

• Zimbabwe has introduced its first dedicated cryptocurrency regulatory framework.
• Crypto businesses must register annually with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).
• Registration will cost $500 per year.
• Operating without registration is now an offense.
• The move brings a largely informal crypto market under regulatory oversight.
• Zimbabwe joins a growing list of African countries introducing formal crypto regulations.

Zimbabwe has introduced its first dedicated regulatory framework for cryptocurrency businesses on Friday, June 12. The new rules require VASPs to secure annual registration with the Financial Intelligence Unit or the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).

The registration, mandated under the new rules put forward by the nation’s Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube, costs $500 annually. Annual renewals cost $400, and operating without registration is now an offense.

The regulations were introduced through Statutory Instrument 99 of 2026 and represent the country’s first comprehensive attempt to establish dedicated rules for the crypto industry.

From Underground to Oversight

The Zimbabwean government and people aren’t new to crypto activity or attempts to govern the market. 

In December 2017, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe warned its citizens about the use of cryptocurrencies as they were unregulated and unrecognised as legal tender.

“Under the existing legal and regulatory dispensation, any person who invests in virtual currencies or participates in any transaction involving virtual currencies does so at their own risk and will not have legal protection from, or recourse against, any regulatory authority.”

By May of 2018, the RBZ ordered financial institutions to stop conducting business with cryptocurrency and crypto exchanges. As expected, the move didn’t stop the use of cryptocurrency, but shifted it to unregulated channels and peer-to-peer trading.

By 2020, the Nation had seemingly warmed up to the idea of crypto and announced its intent to develop a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency. 

Why Zimbabwe Is Regulating Crypto Now

The country’s economic history shapes crypto activity and Zimbabwe’s relationship with the industry. From 2000 to 2007, Zimbabwe’s economy was in a downward spiral. By 2007, inflation had reached over 1,000 percent, and food prices rose by over 200 percent in the space of one week. 

By 2008, inflation surged to 500 billion percent, and by 2009, the country abandoned its currency in favour of the US dollar.

The hyperinflation erased people’s savings and pensions. Despite significant progress in rebuilding the economy, previous inefficient attempts at currency changes and economic revival have eroded public trust in the formal banking system. For many, cryptocurrency is a safer alternative for their savings.

For Zimbabweans in the diaspora and those who work remotely within the country, the cost of remittances has also driven crypto adoption.

Receiving money in crypto is cheaper and faster than traditional bank channels in Sub-Saharan Africa. Remittance fees, on average, are about 8.46%, the most expensive in the world, and nearly triple the UN SDG goal of 3% remittance cost. 

All of these explain why Zimbabwe’s crypto market went underground after half-hearted bans by the RBZ, and might also explain why the country is now attempting to regulate it. 

Crypto adoption in Zimbabwe has been driven largely by economic necessity, not just speculation.

What the Rules Require

The SI sets out a detailed registration process that goes well beyond paying a fee.

Applicants must be incorporated or registered as a legal entity in Zimbabwe. Multinational firms must operate through a locally incorporated subsidiary. Each applicant must submit a money laundering risk assessment, an AML/CFT compliance policy, police clearance certificates for all directors and beneficial owners dated within the past 6 months, cybersecurity safeguard documentation, and fit-and-proper declarations for anyone holding 10% or more of the business.

Once registered, firms must maintain at least two resident directors, appoint a Zimbabwe-based compliance officer, display their registration certificate prominently in both physical and digital form, and notify the FIU within 48 hours of any material change to their business.

The new rules also include “Travel Rule” provisions. VASPs must collect and share originator and beneficiary information on all transfers. They must conduct wallet ownership verification for transfers exceeding $1,000 to unhosted wallets. Customer due diligence applies to all transactions of $1,000 or more, with records to be retained for at least five years.

Firms that fail to maintain fit and proper officers, a resident compliance officer, or two resident directors face fines of up to $50,000. False declarations on applications carry fines of up to $10,000 and a six-month bar on reapplying. The FIU can also suspend or revoke registration with immediate effect if it considers there is a public-interest reason to do so.

Zimbabwe Joins Africa’s Regulatory Shift

Zimbabwe is not acting in isolation. Its neighbour, South Africa, supervises crypto service providers through its Financial Sector Conduct Authority, the continent’s first such regime.

Nigeria is currently developing a comprehensive framework for VASPs and runs oversight through its Securities and Exchange Commission.

Kenya’s Virtual Asset Service Providers Act has been in effect since November and places VASPs under joint regulation by the central bank and the Capital Markets Authority.

Between July 2024 and June 2025, Chainalysis’s records show $205 billion in cryptocurrency transactions in Sub-Saharan Africa, a 52% increase compared to the previous year. 

The Real Test Is Implementation

Zimbabwe has not shared how it plans to implement this new framework. Certain questions, such as banks’ willingness to serve registered crypto businesses, how the FIU plans to enforce compliance in a market that has operated informally for years, and how smaller operators will meet the registration requirements, remain unanswered.

The regulation itself is only the first step. If implementation goes smoothly and registered firms gain real access to banking and payment infrastructure, Zimbabwe’s framework could serve as a useful model for other emerging markets navigating the same transition. If it does not, activity may simply remain in informal channels, outside the regulatory perimeter.