Zimbabwe's central bank is shaking things up with a brand new currency called ZiG (Zimbabwe Gold). The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's governor, John Mushayavanhu, rolled out the details during a press conference, revealing a currency backed by foreign cash, gold, and precious metals. Banks will swap their current Zimbabwean dollar balances into the fresh monetary system that launches on April 8.
The currency has some serious ambition. At kickoff, ZiG will hit the market at 13.56 per dollar with a hefty 20% interest rate. Mushayavanhu made it crystal clear he wants a rock-solid national currency and absolutely refuses to keep printing money like there's no tomorrow. The new bills will come in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, and 100, with...