Bitcoin jumps in Zimbabwe as political and financial crisis deepens
Bitcoin climbed as much as 10% on Zimbabwe’s Golix exchange on Wednesday after the country’s armed forces seized power. The price of the crypto-currency in the country jumped as high as $13,499, almost double the rate at which it trades in international markets, according to prices cited on Golix’s website. It traded at $13,010 by 3.34pm in Harare. Demand for bitcoin in Zimbabwe has surged amid a shortage of hard currency. Golix processed more than $1m of transactions in the past 30 days, compared with turnover of $100,000 for the whole of 2016, according to data on the exchange’s website. Zimbabwe doesn’t have its own currency, with the government adopting the US dollar and the rand, among others, as legal tender in 2009 after hyper-inflation rendered the local dollar worthless. Golix, an unregulated platform that also trades other crypto-currencies including bitcoin cash, has been in operation since 2014. Prices for bitcoin are set by supply and demand, according to Taurai Chinyam...
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