The central bank of The Bahamas has rolled out the world’s first central bank digital currency (CBDC) known as Sand Dollar. With the launch of Sand Dollar, The Bahamas has also become one of the first countries to officially issue a central bank digital currency. This state-backed digital currency is now available all across the nation.
Sand Dollar is based on blockchain technology. It is backed and regulated by the central bank of the country. Sand Dollar is basically the digitalized version of The Bahamian Dollar. Sand Dollar will be utilized for domestic payments only.
Starting from Oct 20 at 10:00 PM UTC, all of the 393,000 residents of The Bahamas can now access this central bank digital currency. The citizens of the country are now allowed to make their accounts with Project Sand. And then they will be able to process transactions as soon as they get the Sand Dollar wallet.
Basically, this central bank digital currency has been designed specifically for making better the payment system of the country. Sand Dollar will complement cash instead of replacing it.
A representative said that around six financial institutions have been authorized by the central bank of The Bahamas for the Project Sand Dollar. These include Money Maxx, Omni Financial, Mobile Assist, Cash N Go, Kanoo, and SunCash. More financial institutions are expected to be onbaorded by the central bank, added the representative.
Reportedly, more than 80 percent of the central banks in the world are currently exploring and researching the case of a central bank digital currency. And there are only a few of them that have made great progress with their respective CBDC projects. The Bahamas’ Central Bank is one of them. Even, it has now become the first central bank to officially roll out its central bank digital currency.
Some other banks are still working over their central bank digital currencies. China’s central bank digital currency known as Digital Yuan is still going through its pilot trial phase. The CBDC of Cambodia is also in the testing phase.
