Abstract
The founding of Bitcoin (BTC) in 2009, led to the development and establishment of more crypto assets and blockchains. At the time of writing this working paper, the conservative market capitalization of the crypto asset industry stood at US$2.5 tn; consisting of approximately 12,900 officially registered crypto assets listed on more than 400 officially registered exchanges. It is thus ostensible that individuals who are interested to invest in crypto assets may be overwhelmed with options available to them—stemming from a lack of crypto education. In the same vein, Zimbabwean citizens are advocating for the adoption of Blockchain Technology (BT), yet most of them do not fully understand how this same technology will benefit them. Thus, the primary objectives of this study were to (1) educate the Zimbabwean citizens on the main aspects of BT; and (2) to explore the different ways they can benefit from the adoption of BT in Zimbabwe. To achieve the latter, non-empirical, exploratory research was conducted in the form of an online desktop review. From the research conducted, the main components in BT are (1) the blockchain; (2) crypto assets; (3) crypto exchanges; and (4) crypto wallets. In terms of benefits, Zimbabwean citizens can benefit through (1) increased investment opportunities; (2) convenient, cheap, and fast remittances; (3) business funding opportunities; (4) protection from weakening currency; (5) buying electricity from prosumers; (6) using art to earn income; (7) increased borrowing and lending opportunities; (8) price stability; (9) increased international trade opportunities; (10) improved governance; (11) improved medical services; and (12) improved food services.
Keywords: Zimbabwe, Crypto asset, Crypto investment, Cryptocurrency, Crypto exchanges, Bitcoin, BTC
