The Central Bank of Jamacia recently announced that it would be launching its central bank digital currency (CBDC), dubbed the Jamaican Digital Exchange, or Jam-Dex, in the first quarter of 2022. According to the Jamaican government, the national digital currency will help to lower transaction costs while allowing the unbanked to access financial services. It is estimated that over 17% of Jamaicans are unbanked, but it is feared that many more are underbanked. This is largely due to systemic financial sector impediments. High transaction costs, in particular, are a huge limitation. Consequently, many Jamaicans believe that banks are a preserve …

The first 100,000 Jamaican citizens to use the country’s new central bank digital currency (CBDC) known as Jam-Dex, will be given a free $16 payment in the hopes of promoting widespread adoption. Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness first announced the news in a Facebook post on Thursday. The post received a mixed response as some Facebook users praised Holness for “embracing a digital future”, while others expressed concern about the motivations of the Jamaican government, accusing Holness of trying to “bribe” citizens into the federal banking system. According to the Jamaica Observer, approximately 17% of the Jamaican population is currently …

The Bank of Jamaica revealed the name of its upcoming central bank digital currency (CBDC) after a design competition, only to receive backlash from the local crypto community. The central bank of Jamaica announced on Twitter that it had chosen the name "Jam-Dex" along with the tagline and logo for its upcoming CBDC, scheduled for late 2022. While the project is promising, its name could be easily confused with a decentralized exchange (DEX), and its logo is "terrible," according to the community response. The name Jam-Dex is said to be taken from Jamaican Digital Exchange, with the slogan "no cash, …

Central bank digital currency (CBDC) evolved into a hot topic in Jamaica when the country’s central bank successfully completed the first pilot test in early January. Following the tests, the country's prime minister, Andrew Holness, has spoken confidently about CBDC adoption in the country. Holness has predicted the majority of the Jamaican population would be quick to adopt the digital currency, with over 70% using the CBDC within five years. The Jamaican prime minister highlighted reduced banking costs and inclusivity of CBDC in a Bloomberg interview, adding that digital currency would ensure greater government accountability thanks to easier public resources …

The Bank of Jamaica (BoJ) has successfully completed its first central bank digital currency (CBDC), targeting a national rollout in the first quarter of 2022. After proceeding with initial CBDC prototype testing in March 2021, Jamaica’s central bank finished an eight-month-long pilot last Friday, the Jamaica Information Service reported. As part of the pilot, the BoJ minted 230 million Jamaican dollars ($1.5 million) worth of the CBDC for issuance to deposit-taking institutions and authorized payment service providers on Aug. 9, 2021. The central bank then issued 1 million JMD ($6,500) worth of digital currency to the staff at BoJ’s banking …

Jamaica is aggressively progressing with the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) as the Bank of Jamaica, or BOJ, has minted the country’s first batch of CBDC. The BOJ officially announced that its dedicated CBDC division demonstrated the process of minting digital currency at a financial ceremony on Monday. The issuing process for a digital version of the Jamaican dollar (JMD) was carried out with participation from Jamaica’s finance minister Nigel Clarke, BOJ governor Richard Byles and a group of senior BOJ executives, as well as a management team from Irish technology firm eCurrency Mint. According to the announcement, the …

Jamaica’s central bank will reportedly commence the initial roll-out of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) project in August. According to a report by the Jamaica Observer on Wednesday, Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) Governor Richard Byles made this known during a Rotary Club event earlier in July. Detailing plans to begin the pilot phase in August, Byles revealed that the BOJ was currently working on the technical aspects of the CBDC within a sandbox environment. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, the BOJ chose Irish technology firm eCurrency Mint as the tech provider for its national digital currency project back in …

Jamaican reggae artist Bay-C has partnered with Caricoin, a London-based Bitcoin (BTC) wallet company, to create a nonfungible token (NFT) platform for fellow performers in the Caribbean. According to a report by the Jamaica Observer, the planned NFT platform will allow reggae and dancehall creatives in the Caribbean to gain more from their efforts in the music industry. The planned NFT platform for musicians in the Caribbean is a further extension of the three-year partnership between Caricoin and the reggae star. Commenting on the plans for the NFT platform, Bay-C stated: “Not everybody wants to understand how the blockchain technology …

Jamaica is the latest country making concrete efforts towards issuing its own sovereign digital currency. According to a press release by the Bank of Jamaica on Tuesday, eCurrency Mint, a cryptography security company specializing in central bank digital currency issuance has been selected as the technology provider for the sovereign digital currency project. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Jamaica’s central bank invited technology solution providers to submit applications for its CBDC project back in July 2020. At the time, the BoJ clarified that its planned sovereign digital currency would not be based on crypto technology. Based in Ireland, eCurrency Mint …

The Bank of Jamaica invited technology solution providers to develop and test potential central bank digital currency, or CBDC, solutions. According to a statement published July 17, interested companies have been requested to submit the details of their solutions to the bank by Aug. 7, 2020. The developed solutions will be tested within the Fintech Regulatory Sandbox recently established by the bank It will ensure adequate consumer protection and data privacy before the solutions are introduced to the Jamaican economy, the bank said. Not a cryptocurrency The central bank stated that a bank-issued digital currency would be a fiat currency …

The Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange (ESCE) plans to partner with Canadian-based digital asset marketplace provider Blockstation to pilot security token offerings (STOs), according to a Letter-of-Intent published on March 10. Blockstation is slated to provide a platform for listing, trading, clearing, settlement and the compliant tokenization of digital assets. The ECSE was the first regional securities market and stock exchange in the western hemisphere and was established by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB). The ECCB administers the eight members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States — Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint …

The Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) will soon carry out a limited pilot to trade Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), according to a press release on Apr. 3. The JSE has signed a master agreement with Canadian fintech firm Blockstation to continue developing tools for the trading of digital assets and security tokens. Following a successful live-trading pilot in late January 2019, the JSE and Blockstation will continue building a safe and regulated ecosystem for trading digital assets and cryptocurrencies. According to the announcement, a limited pilot to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum through the JSE and participating broker-dealers will be launched …