Zimbabwe's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) on June 16 issued a binding mandate requiring all virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to register under Statutory Instrument 99 of 2026, with immediate effect and criminal liability for non-compliance. The move formalizes what has been an eight-year grey market for crypto in the country, driven by hyperinflation and demand for dollar-denominated alternatives.
Registration mandate takes effect
The mandate stems from the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime (Virtual Asset Service Providers Registration) Regulations, gazetted on June 10 as Statutory Instrument 99. Those regulations were enabled by the Finance Act No. 7 of 2025, passed in December, which amended Section 2 of Zimbabwe's Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act to treat VASPs as financial institutions. The FIU's order makes registration compulsory — no grace period, no exemptions.
What VASPs must do
Registration comes with a US$500 initial fee and US$400 annual renewals. Applicants need a locally incorporated entity, director background checks, KYC procedures, transaction monitoring, and compliance with the FATF Travel Rule. But here's the catch: registration with the FIU does not authorize a firm to actually operate. VASPs still need separate operational approvals from either the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe or the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe. That two-step process means even registered firms could face a second regulatory wall.
A long grey market ends
This isn't Zimbabwe's first run-in with crypto regulation. In 2018, the Reserve Bank issued Circular No. 2/2018, ordering all banks to cut ties with crypto exchanges within 60 days. Local exchange Golix challenged the ban in court and won a provisional High Court order lifting it — but only for Golix. Broader regulatory uncertainty persisted for years, leaving the sector in legal limbo. The new framework finally replaces that ad-hoc patchwork with a single registration regime, though the RBZ and SECZ approvals remain separate hurdles.
Bitcoin reserve question
The article also asks whether Zimbabwe could hold a Bitcoin reserve as a monetary anchor. No decision has been announced, but the question hangs over the new regime. For a country that has cycled through currency crises and hyperinflation, the idea of a non-sovereign reserve asset isn't just academic — but the regulatory framework doesn't address it yet.
