A few weeks ago, news reports began appearing in international media sources such as Bloomberg that the British Virgin Islands planned to issue a digital currency. Some of the reports indicated that the territory planned to replace the US dollar with a digital currency. However, the British Overseas Territory recently issued a statement denying the reports.
What Was Claimed?
Reports at the time indicated that the territory, which is renowned for having crypto-friendly laws, and being home to crypto firms such and Bitfinex and Tether, would soon issue a digital currency. BVI was apparently going to collaborate with Lifelabs.io in the project.
The BVI Has Denied the Reports
In a press release, the territory denied claims that it planned to issue a digital currency. It added that the US Dollar would continue being the official fiat currency of the BVI. In the press release, it said that it was not in the process of creating a digital currency to replace the USD as its national currency. It added that it had not partnered with any company in the issuance of a national digital currency. The press release noted that the island nation had been using the USD since 1959 and there were no plans to change that.
A Center for Digital Technology
The press release noted that the BVI was positioning itself as a center for digital innovation and entrepreneurship. As a result, it has created an enabling environment for businesses operating in this sector. Part of its effort in the fintech arena involved hosting a symposium on December 3, according to the press release.
Relationship with Lifelabs.io
According to the government of the territory, Lifelabs.io is just one of the many cryptocurrency businesses that have sent proposals to set up their base of operations in the territory. As such, it would appear that its proposal to accept the company to operate in the territory might have been misconstrued to indicate they were working together.
The press release added that any business was free to embrace modern technology in the territory. As such, Lifelabs.io appears to have been given the green light to go ahead with its project. However, the BVI will not switch from its official national fiat currency to the digital currency that the firm launches.
The press release concluded by saying that the territory’s government was open to working with various firms to improve the quality of life for its 35,000 residents. This includes those working in the tech sector, green technology and the financial services sector.
BVI is Not the Only Nation to Do This
A few weeks ago, we reported that Tunisia was planning to issue a national digital currency. However, the central bank of Tunisia denied those claims just a few days later. This case was quite similar to the BVI one. As it turns out, this was a private venture, which had nothing to do with the government of Tunisia. While these projects have turned out to be false starts, there are nations such as China and the Marshall Islands, which are serious about issuing a central bank digital currency.
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