Central Bank Digital Currencies Trials Reach the Caribbean

Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is similar to cryptocurrency but is not the same. Countries such as Jamaica, the Bahamas, China, and Mexico have attempted or are planning to try their own version of a CBDC, and there are many more on the way.

On the other side of the virtual coin, there are countries like El Salvador that have made Bitcoin legal tender, as well as Costa Rica, which has Bitcoin ATMs.

One thing is certain: all forms of digital currency appear to be gaining traction and are all equally vital in the digital era’s development.

DCash, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank’s CBDC experiment, was introduced in April 2021. Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Lucia were among the islands involved in the pilot. The experiment was a success, and the Easter Caribbean digital currency app is now available to the whole public.

The Western Caribbean has decided to partake in the festivities. The CBDC was first piloted in Jamaica in early 2021, and the country has since rolled out its own version of the CBDC. It began the trial by circulating $230 million in the market. Since then, Jamaica has joined the rest of the eastern Caribbean in releasing a comparable app for the general public to use.