These two islands are poised to be the first from the Caribbean to use cryptocurrency

The Barbados-based fintech company called Bitt Inc. has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (CBCS) regarding a possible establishment of a digital currency for the islands of Curaçao and Sint Maarten.

The business venture had been in the works since April of this year and Medici Ventures, under which Bitt’s portfolio is housed, made the announcement during CBCS’s second Central Banking Conference, reports Caribbean360.

The acting President of CBCS, Leila Matroos-Lasten stated that the most pertinent objectives of the endeavor would be to “maintain the external stability of the guilder, and to promote the efficient functioning of the financial system in the countries of Curaçao and Sint Maarten.”

“The Central Bank is determined to address its challenges proactively by exploring the latest technology available, for example, to reduce the level of cash usage within the monetary union, and to facilitate more secure, more AML and KYC compliant, and more efficient financial transactions within and between Curaçao and Sint Maarten,” she explained further.

The establishment of the digital currency hopes to streamline a monetary system that caters to everyone – especially those in different regions of the world.

Rawdon Adams, CEO of Bitt Inc. commented, “This makes the Central Bank’s task of printing and distributing physical cash securely across member states that much more challenging and costly. A central bank issued digital currency, which can be used on mobile wallets, facilitates secure and frictionless financial transactions and payments, using a mobile phone/tablet, within each jurisdiction and across jurisdictions in the monetary union. This solution is particularly powerful in the case of cross-border transactions, which can take days even within a monetary union, and the cost of which is only increasing.”

Adams went on to say, “We are therefore pleased to sign this MOU with the CBCS, and look forward to the collaboration and results.”

Cryptocurrency is steadily gaining traction globally. In January, Africa’s youngest entrepreneur residing in Ghana made a fortune by investing in bitcoin.

Also, Senegalese-American rapper and entrepreneur has goals of forming a futuristic city in his homeland that uses cryptocurrency. He’s dubbed it AKoin – naming it after his own likeness.

He made the revelation at the Cannes Lions Festival in June where he described the city he plans on building as “a real-life Wakanda” in reference to the Afro-futuristic city in Marvel’s movie Black Panther.

The AKoin website said the president of Senegal had “gifted” Akon 2,000 acres of land for the planned city near the Senegalese capital of Dakar which he named Akon Crypto City.

Akon says it is the first 100% crypto-based city with AKoin at the center of transactional life where consumers will be able to buy, hold and spend cryptocurrency straight from their smartphones, the BBC reports.

He stated also that he doesn’t know the technical aspects of the project: “I come with the concepts and let the geeks figure it out.”