The government of the British Virgin Islands — or more officially, “Government of the Virgin Islands” — announced on Tuesday (December 3) that, in partnership with blockchain startup LIFELabs, it intends to create BVI~LIFE™, a stablecoin for use within the British Overseas Territory.
The British Virgin Islands (BVI) is “a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands and north-west of Anguilla.”
Back on April 18, the BVI government issued a press release, which stated that it was partnering with LIFElabs “for the purposes of providing Rapid Cash Response in the event of an emergency, and also creating an alternative digital currency payment method for facilitating ongoing financial transactions across the network of islands.”
LIFElabs says its LIFEtoken is built on blockchain technology. Here is LIFElabs explaining the idea behind this token:
Digital cash, like the money in your online bank account. A consumer reward system for businesses, charities, communities, and innovation projects. It can be bought, sold, and traded like shares, or used simply to purchase items from a growing number of partner retailers.
Today, the BVI is hosting its BVI Digital Economy symposium, where LIFElabs will be giving out details about its plans for the rollout of the BVI’s upcoming digital currency.
Although the BVI has been using the U.S. dollar as its national currency since 1959, according to today’s press release, what the government wants to do now is to implement, with the help of LIFElabs, a “central bank digital currency” (CBDC) that is “powered by LIFEtoken” and pegged 1:1 against the dollar. It hopes that “this transition will reduce transactional fees, increase transaction speed, and be accessible to BVIslanders and tourists alike.”
Premier Andrew Fahie had this to say:
The importance of blockchain technology and the significant benefits it offers the BVI, are paramount to the Territory. We welcome this innovation with open arms. Our partner, LIFElabs, has demonstrated with their proven track record that their ideology is not just mere words, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with them on the rollout of BVI~LIFE, our digital currency.
And Sanjay Jadhav, the CEO of LIFElabs, stated:
This partnership puts us in a unique position to make a massive impact in a place that really stands to benefit. The foundation of a digital currency is necessary groundwork for the British Virgin Islands to continue to serve the global economy as it has in the past with the onset of the blockchain revolution.
Featured Image Credit: Photo via Pixabay.com
