• Zimbabwe will require cryptocurrency businesses to register annually with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) as part of a new regulatory framework.
• Authorities will charge registration fees of $500 for initial applications and $400 for annual renewals, while unregistered operations will constitute an offense.
• The reform aligns with a broader African trend toward regulating digital assets as cryptocurrency adoption accelerates across the continent.

The Zimbabwean government announced that it will require companies operating in the cryptocurrency sector to register with financial authorities under a framework designed to regulate a market that has until now remained largely informal.

According to regulations issued by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube and reported by Reuters, companies involved in the purchase, sale, transfer or custody of digital assets must register annually with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), an anti-money laundering body housed within the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

Authorities will charge an initial registration fee of $500 and an annual renewal fee of $400. Moreover, authorities will classify any operation conducted without registration as an offense, underscoring the government's determination to place the sector under formal supervision.

The decision follows several years of restrictions on crypto assets in Zimbabwe. Authorities began limiting activities linked to digital currencies in 2018, and those measures pushed a significant share of trading activity toward informal channels and peer-to-peer platforms.

The new framework signals a shift from restricting crypto activity toward regulating and monitoring it within the formal financial system.

Zimbabwe's move comes against the backdrop of rising crypto asset adoption across sub-Saharan Africa. According to a study published in September by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, cryptocurrency transactions reached $205 billion in sub-Saharan Africa between July 2024 and June 2025.

Users drove much of that activity through cross-border payments and remittance-related transactions. In many African countries, consumers increasingly use cryptocurrencies as an alternative to traditional banking channels, particularly because international money transfer costs remain high. The World Bank reports that remittance fees in sub-Saharan Africa rank among the highest globally and regularly exceed 6% of the amount transferred.

Zimbabwe's reform reflects a broader effort across Africa to structure and supervise the digital asset sector. In South Africa, authorities regulate crypto service providers through the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA). Meanwhile, in Nigeria, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has introduced a progressive registration framework for cryptocurrency exchanges.

In Kenya, lawmakers have proposed a Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) law that would establish a shared supervisory framework between the Central Bank of Kenya and the country's capital markets regulator, illustrating a hybrid approach to digital asset regulation.

As African governments seek to balance innovation, investor protection and financial integrity, regulators across the continent continue to develop formal frameworks for the rapidly evolving crypto industry.

This article was initially published in French by Samira Njoya

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum