Bitcoin prices soar after massive premiums on trading and rebirth of Zimbabwe Dollar

With Zimbabwe Dollars being brought back from the dead, citizens of the country are facing a lot of problems. Additionally, the fiat currency is facing rejection by citizens and it is getting problematic for Bitcoin enthusiasts in the country to buy BTC due to an enormous premium on it.

Bitcoin was purpose-built as a workaround for fiat, due to its drawbacks and the involvement of centralized authorities. Although it hasn’t quite replaced fiat, it has managed to become popular with people as “store of value,” and as an uncorrelated asset

Addressing the Zimbabwe situation, Mati Greenspan, Senior Analyst at eToro, has said that the rebirth of Zimbabwe’s Dollar has caused the price of Bitcoin to skyrocket in the country. He added,

“So, it’s no wonder that when the country of Zimbabwe announced that they’re bringing back the Zimbabwe Dollar, the price of bitcoin skyrocketed in the African country.”

The price of 1 Bitcoin hit a high of 76,312 USD on LocalBitcoins and as seen above, the payment method was EcoCash, a Zimbabwe-based mobile payments method. Greenspan further added that this was due to the “abrupt” prohibition of “trading in USD” and that “many locals will be trying to offload their EcoCash holdings in any way possible.”

@IvanOnTech, tweeted,

“Bitcoin is currently trading at $76k in Zimbabwe. A 600% premium compared to international prices. People are DESPERATE to financially exit their corrupt and hyper-inflated currency. The world desperately needs Bitcoin!!!”

Greenspan concluded,

“Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a significant premium on trading BTC for ZWL, but unless you have a contact at a Zimbabwean bank who can exchange EcoCash for USD at the rate of the day, the margins probably won’t be worth the trip. And if you do, let me know so I can load up my ledger. I’m coming with you!!”