Jamaica stated its ambitions to develop a CBDC in 2020 as an alternative to cryptocurrencies, making it one of the Caribbean governments to do so.
Bank of Jamaica’s CBDC Logo Announcement
After a design competition, the Bank of Jamaica revealed the name of its planned Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), only to face outrage from the local crypto community.
The Jamaican central bank announced on Twitter that the name “Jam-Dex,” as well as the motto and emblem for its forthcoming CBDC, which is set to open in late 2022, had been picked. While the initiative appears to be promising, its name is similar to that of a decentralized exchange (DEX), and its logo is “awful,” according to community feedback.
The term Jam-Dex is reportedly derived from the Jamaican Digital Exchange, which advertises “no cash, no problem.” It was chosen as the winner after a competition by the central bank. While the winner took home J$600,000 ($3,800), the community was less than pleased with the outcome.
. Is it a CBDC or a DEX? And I appreciate the attempt at crowd sourcing the design – fairly Web 3 of you but… this logo cannot work. It should have been put to a broader voting mechanism – the panelists let you down here big time— Jaymeon Jones (@Jaymeon__Jones) February 18, 2022
Decentralized Exchange
A decentralized exchange is referred to as a ‘DEX’ in the bitcoin realm. A decentralized exchange is one with no centralized authority and instead relies on a network of peer-to-peer nodes. These nodes allow users to trade directly with one another without the requirement of a middleman. The control of your funds is in your hands under this arrangement, and you deal directly with another person.
The local crypto community was keen to see the designs that had been rejected:
Can we see some.of the rejected designs?— Zj Sparks 九 (@Sparkiebaby) February 17, 2022
Some of the other competitors were also dissatisfied with the outcome:
Can’t believe this beat my design lol :Image 2 (mines) — Jamaican Investor (@Jamaican0071) February 17, 2022
Another user argued that judges had “outdated” standards:
We actually have a problem where the judges have out-dated standards, which discourage local designers who apply more international standards to their designs.— Jeyded (@jeyd_ed) February 17, 2022
Others were merely frightened that the initiative would be dismissed because of its logo:
The Logo is terrible at this point no one will take you serious like seriously you want to go in the most advanced state of money but your logo was created by a 5yo mind smh that’s what you are projecting why would people who understand this space would invest here— crypto carib (@OnceAga55838598) February 19, 2022
Jamaica’s CBDC Journey
Jamaica announced plans to introduce a CBDC as an alternative to cryptocurrencies in 2020, making it the first Caribbean country to do so. The country’s central bank differentiated CBDCs from other cryptocurrencies, claiming that cryptocurrencies do not always meet the standards of money and are not always supported by a central authority.
Nigeria was one of the first countries in the world to establish an open CBDC. The prospects of a digital dollar are now being assessed in the United States. El Salvador, on the other hand, has gone in a different direction. Instead of inventing its own digital currency, the Central American country has fully accepted Bitcoin.
