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Blockchain Technology

South African tender and are also not extensively utilized and known as a medium of

exchange. Consequently, SARS stands ready to punish those who evade tax through

cryptocurrency assets.

Despite all this, cryptocurrency continues to experience phenomenal growth and

acceptance. It has been embraced by a serious number of stockholders, engineers,

controllers, dealers, tycoons and customers (US Congressional Research Service,

2015). Consequently, most countries have been caught off-guard and are now play­

ing catch-up in a bid to protect the investing public and maintain market stability

while being cautious enough not to stifle innovation (Regulatory Brief-PwC, 2018).

In April 2020, South Africa made a U-turn in promulgating cryptocurrency laws by

issuing an outline application, and currently, Nigeria plans to control cryptocurren­

cies among its Securities and Exchange Commission (Helms, 2020; Kazeem, 2020).

Consequently, most attention worldwide is shifting towards the regulation of crypto­

currencies rather than whether to accept them or not.

6.3  METHODOLOGY

This work has chosen a mixed method technique combining both qualitative and quan­

titative research methods as proposed by Hulme (2007), Greener (2008) and Creswell

(2014). This study sought to analyse how best Zimbabwe can regulate the adoption and

use of cryptocurrencies. The quantitative approach adopted methods such as surveys

and questionnaires with a set of questions and predefined answers (Saunders et al.,

2016). The two methods complemented each other in the analysis of data.

6.3.1  Target Population

According to cryptocurrencies network exchange players, the Zimbabwe cryptocur­

rency database has 10,000 cryptocurrency users either transacting or constantly in

touch with the Bitcoin Exchanges, and these cryptocurrency users formed the core

of the study population. The population thus consisted of 10,000 cryptocurrency

users, two Bitcoin exchange managers, one official from the Banker’s Association

of Zimbabwe (BAZ), one official from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), one

Bitcoin entrepreneur and one academic/technologist. Table 6.1 indicates the popula­

tion and sample composition used for data collection.

6.3.2  Sampling Technique

To select cryptocurrency users, judgmental sampling was used (Kumar, 2009). The

researcher relied on his experience as a player in the technology arena to select cryp­

tocurrency users who had a record of having an interest in constantly trading in

cryptocurrencies in the Zimbabwean market. The researcher deliberately targeted

respondents who were likely to supply this particular study with the required infor­

mation (Singleton and Straits, 2018; Leedy and Ormond, 2014). For the qualita­

tive aspect of the study, interviewees were selected through convenience sampling

(Castillo, 2005).