Latest update February 24th, 2025 9:02 AM
Guyana not ready for cryptocurrency – VP Jagdeo
…Says major financial overhaul needed first
Kaieteur News- Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has ruled out the adoption of cryptocurrency in Guyana anytime soon, stating that the country must first undertake a major financial overhaul before considering such a move. His remarks came during a question-and-answer segment at the recently concluded 2025 Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo
Cryptocurrency is a digital payment system that doesn’t need banks to verify transactions. It allows people to send and receive payments directly. Instead of physical cash, cryptocurrency exists as digital records in an online database. Responding to a question on whether the government was considering regulations to facilitate cryptocurrency transactions for cross-border payments and trade, Jagdeo made it clear that such measures were not on the cards for now.
“The answer is no, not at this time,” Jagdeo said. He then went on to outline several ongoing digitization projects, including a push to make Guyana’s international airport paperless within months and the deployment of facial recognition cameras across the country to enhance security.
Additionally, he noted the issuance of secure national identification cards, which he said would serve as a foundation for broadening financial services and improving payment systems.
Despite acknowledging that the Central Bank had done some work on cryptocurrency and its potential introduction, Jagdeo reiterated that the financial sector required significant modernization before Guyana could entertain such advancements.
“But I don’t think we are ready at this stage to introduce any to go any further until we have done a major financial overhaul,” he stated.
The Vice President expressed concerns that the financial sector could become a bottleneck to Guyana’s rapid economic growth if it does not expand in complexity and introduce new financial instruments.
“We think that the financial sector can become a humble…can slow down the massive growth that we’re seeing in the real sector, if it doesn’t expand in complexity and instruments, and that is why we’re trying to drag it out of the stone ages into an environment that is appropriate to support the expansion in the real sector,” he said.
He added that once the financial sector reaches the necessary level of sophistication, cryptocurrency could be considered, provided that the appropriate safeguards are put in place.
(Guyana not ready for cryptocurrency – VP Jagdeo)
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