The shift towards digital currencies is continuing by many central banks, which we follow periodically on the Arab Bitcoin website.

Recently, announce Mr. Nigel Clark, Jamaican Finance Minister, said that the country intends to launch its central bank digital currency “CBDC” in 2022.

During his national budget speech, Clark revealed that the central bank digital currency will be tested in December of this year, before it is officially launched.

The Jamaican government has revealed that, given the spread of the coronavirus, a rapid transition to a digital society will be critical to economic recovery.

Clark added that central bank digital currencies will greatly improve financial inclusion and provide financial services to the country’s unbanked population.

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He specified that although a BoJ backed digital currency would be issued, it would be different from cryptocurrencies and CBDC should not be considered a cryptocurrency.

In this regard, Clark stated:

Central bank digital currency should not be confused with cryptocurrency, the latter is issued privately and is not backed by a regulatory body.

The central bank digital currency issued by the Central Bank of Jamaica will become exchangeable with the Jamaican dollar on a one-to-one basis, thus adopting characteristics similar to a stablecoin digital currency.

Since the beginning of 2020, Jamaica has been developing its own central bank digital currency.

And the Central Bank of Jamaica is not the only one moving towards a central bank digital currency. In June 2020, the Bank of Japan tested and developed CBDC solutions, and China is close to announcing the official launch of the digital yuan.

Different countries seek CBDC issuance by different countries:

Currently, the first country to officially introduce a central bank digital currency is the Bahamas.

The Central Bank of the Bahamas announced the world’s first state-backed digital currency, dubbed the “Sand Dollar,” in October 2020.

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The Central Bank of the Bahamas launches its own digital currency, CBDC, based on the blockchain

The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the timeline for the issuance of CBDCs by central banks.

Many countries have announced their experience and are working to develop their own digital currency, and many of them are expected to launch in 2021.

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