Despite plethora fiscal and economic challenges, The Bahamas still managed, in the midst of a pandemic, to make a name for itself as a small nation leading the way in digital currencies.
While the Sand Dollar had already been launched nationally in 2020, it was not until 2021 that the rest of the world turned its eyes toward the innovation brewing within the nation’s shores.
The Bahamas was pushed to the forefront of the global conversation around digital and cryptocurrencies, after becoming the first nation in the world to develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) lauded the achievement, noting that The Bahamas was leading the revolution and the future of money.
In December, Central Bank Governor John Rolle was named to the Bloomberg 50 list of the people and ideas that defined global business in 2021.
It is an incredible feat for a small nation like The Bahamas to take the lead on an innovative finance offering that not even large nations like China, the United States and the United Kingdom have implemented and are still developing.
As off November 2021, there $302,785.04 worth of Sand Dollars in circulation, 28,003 digital wallets using them and about 845 merchants accepting them.
The Central Bank has said it intends to ramp up public educational campaigns and merchant training in the first half of 2022 to foster greater adoption of CBDC and its efforts to move away from cash transactions.
So, even in the midst of what could be described as the most jarring economic predicament The Bahamas has experienced in modern history, there has been moments of great pride in the financial sector that can be built upon in the new year.
The post Bahamas chartered the course for digital currencies in 2021 appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/bahamas-chartered-the-course-for-digital-currencies-in-2021/
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