The Central Bank of The Bahamas is reportedly working towards rolling out a national cryptocurrency, available throughout its whole archipelago in October. 

Specifically, The Bahamas is reportedly on a race to secure the title of the first nation globally to release a state-backed virtual currency countrywide, with the revelation of a central bank-issued cryptocurrency to be made available in October. 

The assistant manager of eSolutions at the Central Bank of The Bahamas, Chaozhen Chen, reportedly disclosed that the digital currency – generally referred to as “Sand Dollar” – is reportedly designed with a primary goal to boost financial inclusion among the remote islands within the archipelago nation.

“A lot of residents in those more remote islands don’t have access to digital payment infrastructure or banking infrastructure. We really had to customize the effort and the solution to what we need as a sovereign nation.”

Sand Dollar transfers will reportedly be able to be carried out via mobile phones, with approximately 90% of the Bahamian population using mobile phones, up to  2017.

Chen reportedly revealed that the CBDC will be under the similar regulations currently imposed to the Bahamas dollar, with anti-money laundering and know-your-customer protections, associating with the establishment of accounts to use the virtual currency.

Extra digital dollars will reportedly be issued together with the rise in demand, with the CBDC generated solely together with the retirement of Bahamian dollars, to minimize the possible effects on monetary supply.