To the layman, investments of this nature many times is met with scepticism. The thing is,
in order to even be interested in cryptocurrency, one would have to how they are used and
the mechanisms behind their operation, growth and stability. Naturally, there will always
be those who are privy to this information, firsthand or otherwise and I have a few of these
enthusiasts as friends. However t the average man, the most understandable aspect of
cryptocurrency, is the opportunity to have ones money experience growth, both short and long term.
The Bank of Jamaica is currently in dialogue with Caricoin, a United Kigdom regulated bitcoin
exchange entity interestedin setting up operations locally. The company which already has development
offices in Kingston and has highlighted Jamaica as a key location, though the platform of focus is
the Caribbean in general.Several shotcomings have been discovered however. Even though bitcoin is
unregulated and so makes it easier to use, this only carries so long as business isnt at all
integrated with local banking.
There are of course loopholes in almost everything and so one option as Caricoin suggests is,
the entity merging with banking in Panama or somewhere like that and allowing business to be conducted
with Jamaican credit cards.
A step forward?
As even more commercial entities move towards the use of cryptocurrency in business transactions, it is
only fitting that we familiarise ourselves with the ins and outs. One advantage that has been highlighted too
is that this caters to those who aren't interested in banking systems, prefer anonimity and generally opens more
e-commerce doors for small businesses. For instance, Caricoin plans to integrate what they call the
"sandbox" approach. This will,in a nutshell, see to businesses getting an unofficial "go ahead"
from The Bank of Jamaica and the Ministry of Finance as opposd to the current lengthy registration process.
As Caricoin's Caribbean regulatory advisor, Karsten Becker assures, Caricoin is focused on delivering
a secure, user-friendly and less costly way of storing wealth and moving it around. The company which
is conducting ongoing research in the Caribbean, injected some US$50,000 worth of free bitcoins into
the system during a test. This was conducted in Turks & Caicos Islands, Barbados and Trinidad. Participants,
on average embraced the platform and spent their digital money on, for example, mobile top-ups and for online shopping.
As discussions for the entities integration into the local market continues The BOJ insists that
electronic retail payment guidelines published in 2013 provides some broad categories in which
electronic financial services products could be considered. It is then for the Bank of Jamaica to then
consider "how they organise the service - the governance arrangement, the technology, the agreements with the stakeholders,
the customers, consumer protection arrangements and how they ensure safety and security of consumer funds".
As to whether the bank has the capacity to regulate cryptocurrency? We feverishly await further developments
jamaica-gleaner.com/.../bitcoin-exchange-caricoin-trying-enter-jamaica- discussions-boj-under-way