Zimbabwe plans to launch digital currency backed by gold

Zimbabwe has announced the launch of a gold-backed digital currency in a bid to stabilize its faltering dollar. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Gov. John Mangudya said Friday that the gold tokens will start circulating on May 8. He said they will be “fully backed" by the country's gold reserves. Trust in the Zimbabwe dollar is desperately low after people saw their savings wiped out by hyperinflation in 2008. Many now prefer to seek scarce U.S. dollars on the illegal market to keep at home as savings or for daily transactions. The Bahamas, Jamaica and Nigeria have already launched digital currencies, with several other countries, including China, running trial projects.