From Sunlight to Savings: How One Zimbabwean Farmer Is Building a Bitcoin Business
Why Bitcoin matters in Zimbabwe
I'm a Bitcoin advocate, and in early 2020 I visited Zimbabwe believing that because of its history of hyperinflations it had ideal conditions for Bitcoin adoption. I was on a mission to learn how the local money system works and if Bitcoin had been used so far. I documented my experiences in a six-part podcast documentary. After spending 1.5 years total in Zimbabwe over the past five years, I've seen firsthand why this technology matters. On my most recent trip, I travelled from Harare to Bulawayo by bus to interview one farmer who's proving it works.
Inflation and financial control
Zimbabwe has changed its national currency several times since gaining independence in 1980. There were four different versions of the Zimbabwean dollar (with multiple redenominations), a multi-currency period in which the US dollar was the primarily used currency and lately the ZiG Zimbabwean Gold, a currency that is claimed to be backed by gold. With every failed version the people of Zimbabwe lost immense wealth. Since the invention of Bitcoin in 2009 the Zimbabwean currency was redenominated or replaced by a new version four times. Bitcoin not only survived them it thrived as Bitcoin can not be arbitrarily redenominated, hyperinflated or changed by government decree.
To put this in context: Since Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, there have been six total currency changes—four of them occurring during Bitcoin's lifetime alone. While Bitcoin grew 140,000 times between 2009 and 2025, Zimbabwe's sovereign currencies were completely destroyed and rebuilt six times, with holders losing everything in each transition. The evidence shows that Bitcoin provided the stability and store of value that Zimbabwe's currencies catastrophically failed to deliver.
Bitcoin matters, because it has genuine utility
it gives ownership: nobody can take your bitcoin away from you if you hold your own keys,
it can't be seized or access limited: there is no bank involved, it's decentralized, the government can't interfere
it is permissionless: no ID needed, no money needed upfront to use it
is stable compared to national currency: instead of losing value like local currency, bitcoin has been adding value over time.
is borderless: bitcoin enables easy and cheap cross-border transactions without restrictions.
"You wouldn't have to be scurrying to the shops like you do if you've got X amount of Zimbabwean currency, because you know it will get debased or devalued, because bitcoin holds its value over time." says Ethan a farmer in Bulawayo, who I interviewed.
There is a lot of demand for bitcoin in Zimbabwe that cannot be fulfilled. Due to international sanctions and pressure from the Reserve Bank and government, institutions and banks are banned from touching Bitcoin. As a result, there are no registered exchanges to buy bitcoin from. From a privacy perspective this is good - people obtaining bitcoin without KYC (identification), but the downside is that you need to know people personally who you can trust and who are willing to exchange US dollar to bitcoin and those are rare and ask for commissions of up to 20%.
Stablecoins give short-term stability, Bitcoin is true value
Critics will immediately point to Bitcoin's volatility - and they're not wrong about the short-term price swings. That's why many Zimbabweans prefer stablecoins like USDT for daily transactions. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that promise to not lose any value. Almost every stablecoin is issued by a centralized entity making them prone to be controlled by governments, also stablecoins unlike bitcoin can't gain in value even more due to the fact they are pegged to national currencies they lose the same value through inflation over time.
I learned that USDT Tether is the preferred cryptocurrency in Zimbabwe, because everyone wants to use the US dollar rather than the Zimbabwean currency - just like before the rise of crypto as everyone has been preferring USD in cash since 2009. Compared to bitcoin Tether gives you a short-term stable value and it can facilitate fast and cheap borderless payments with predictable fees. Farmer and business man Ethan understands this, but he trusts Bitcoin more because it gives value, it is not just a payment system, cannot be inflated or controlled by nation states and it is censorship-resistant - all properties that USDT does not have.
For Ethan, the solution is straightforward: earn and hold Bitcoin long-term, spend bitcoin only when you really need to (It's possible to cash out bitcoin to USD peer to peer). When he needs to cover expenses, he spends traditional currency from his farm operations, only converting Bitcoin when absolutely necessary. This way, the farm benefits from Bitcoin's appreciation over time while short-term volatility becomes irrelevant to the bulk of his savings.
At first, the miners earned around 25 to 30 dollars a week. But more important than the money was the proof:
Bitcoin mining worked with solar energy.
Payments arrived automatically every day.
The sats could cross borders without permission.
That experience convinced Ethan to find more use-cases for Bitcoin within his business - a farm in Bulawayo. It was his own "proof of work."
Challenges and security
Running miners in Zimbabwe is not always easy. At one point, burglars stole the farm's batteries, which forced Ethan to rebuild and add more security. Lithium batteries later became very expensive, but he continued improving the system step by step.
Even with these challenges, he sees value in mining: not just earning bitcoin, but also using the heat from the machines to warm fish ponds and greenhouses in the future. In agriculture, nothing should go to waste.
Farming with bitcoin
Ethan's farm shows how bitcoin can be part of everyday life:
Fish farming: His team rebuilt an unused school pool into a tilapia fish pond to support a local school with over 500 students. The goal is to generate enough income from fish sales so no child is sent home for unpaid school fees.
Honey production: Ethan practices biodynamic beekeeping and sells pure honey, accepting only Bitcoin as payment. For those who already hold bitcoin in Zimbabwe, this creates a direct circular economy without the friction of converting currencies. The bees also pollinate nearby farms, improving crop yields.
Community projects: Farm workers run their own side projects, like raising chickens. Part of the profits are saved in bitcoin to give them some security in a country without pension system.
Asked about the advantages for businesses in Zimbabwe to use Bitcoin, Ethan answers:
It's going to be there tomorrow when you wake up.
It's not going to get debased.
Nobody can take it away from you.
You can transact across international borders in order to acquire stuff you need for your business.
Your business will survive, because there's no disruption by forces outside of your control.
Lessons for the diaspora
Ethan believes that even Zimbabweans living abroad can use bitcoin to help. If remittances were sent in bitcoin, people could avoid the 2% fees from money transfer companies. Those savings could instead build a "diaspora bitcoin reserve" to support future community projects at home.
Why this matters
We have to be honest Bitcoin hasn't solved Zimbabwe's broader economic problems. It won't fix corruption, infrastructure, or international sanctions, but for people willing to learn, it offers something Zimbabwe's government cannot take away: financial sovereignty.
I'm sharing Ethan's story because too many Bitcoin discussions stay theoretical. Critics dismiss it as speculation; maximalists oversell it as a panacea. The truth is more practical: in countries with broken monetary systems, Bitcoin provides tools that actually work - if you're willing to learn and adapt. Ethan's farm isn't running on ideology; it's running on math and incentives that align with reality.
Ask and learn while doing
For Ethan, Bitcoin is not just something to hold. It is something to use. By earning, saving, and spending it, he is creating resilience for himself, his workers, and the local school. Whether it is fish, honey, or cross-border payments, Bitcoin is helping build a small but real circular economy in Zimbabwe. In the end he concludes, you just have to start using it:
"You can ask as many questions as you want about Bitcoin, but you have to go out, purchase it, hold it, observe it, answer those questions for yourself over a period of longer than just six months, longer than a year, longer than two." - Ethan.
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