Cryptocurrency trading will resume in Zimbabwe as the country’s Supreme Court has issued a provisional order lifting the ban on digital currency. This reverses an earlier directive by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), it was reported.
Supreme Court Justice Alfas Chitakunye said in his order:
"The ban issued by respondents through a letter dated May 15, 2018, against applicant, directing it to cease its operations, shut down its virtual currency exchange business and ordering the closure of its bank accounts with its bankers, be and is hereby suspended pending the return day.”
Chitakunye’s latest ruling overturns the May 12 order of the central bank directing all financial institutions in Zimbabwe to desist transacting or trading in cryptocurrencies. On May 15, digital currency giant Bitfinance (Private) Limited, which was operating in the country as Goliz, received a letter from RBZ ordering it to stop operations immediately and to close all its accounts with all the bankers.
In a statement about the ban, RBZ Governor Dr. John Mangudya warned the public against trading in virtual currencies. He said:
“Any person who buys, sells, or otherwise transacts in cryptocurrencies, whether online, or otherwise, does so at their own risk and will have no recourse to the Reserve Bank or to any regulatory authority in the country.
“The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has not authorized or licensed any person or entity or exchange for the issuance, sale, purchase, exchange or investment in any virtual currencies/coins/tokens in Zimbabwe. Exchanges such as Bitfinance (Private) Limited (Golix) and Styx24 are not licensed or regulated by the Reserve Bank.”
But Golix, through its lawyers, Mutandiro Chitsanga & Chitima Legal Practitioners, petitioned the ban before the High Court, describing the order as unfair and unreasonable. They challenged that the RBZ order was not in accordance with the requirements of the country's Constitution and administrative law.
Justice Mangudya quickly acted on the petition and issued a temporary lifting of the ban, paving the way for the continued operation of digital currency trading and businesses in the country.
Some industry insiders in Zimbabwe earlier expressed confidence that the central bank’s order would not affect the settlement between exchanges, with peer-to-peer trading continuing to do business.
A source was quoted as saying:
“We can sit over a cup of coffee and transfer cryptos among ourselves. The entire logic of crypto is peer-to peer-transaction without trusted third parties.”
This article appeared first on Cryptovest
