Jordan’s Central Bank Considering CBDC

Central Bank of Jordan Governor Adel Al Sharkas said recently the agency is considering whether to create its own central bank digital currency (CBDC) that would be linked with the country’s national currency (the Jordanian dinar), according to a New Business Herald report Tuesday (Feb. 1).

Jordan might also allow cryptocurrency trading “once the necessary legislation has been put in place,” the report says.

Al Sharkas’ remarks came after the head of Jordan’s Lower House Economy and Investment Committee, Khair Abu Sa’ilik, warned there are risks inherent with crypto trading.

In an Unblock Media report, Al Sharkas cited China and four other Arab countries which he said had also banned crypto trading when talking about some of the reasons for Jordan to tread lightly on the path to launching its own digital coin. Jordan had outlawed crypto trading in order to protect investors from fraudulent crypto investment schemes, he said.

“With regards to the plans to issue a Jordanian digital currency, a study is underway to develop a legal digital currency linked to Jordanian dinar,” said Al Sharkas. “It is possible in the future to allow cryptocurrency trading, after enacting [the] legislation and regulations.”

Related: Jamaica: CDBC Will Help the ‘Financially Excluded’

There are plenty of other countries weighing their own CBDCs — or in the process of launching them. Jamaica hopes its entry, which is slated to be unveiled in the first quarter of the year, will help the country’s unbanked population, according to Natalie Haynes, a deputy governor with Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) for banking and currency operations and financial markets infrastructure.

The BOJ wrapped up its eight-month pilot of its central bank digital currency at the end of last year. The bank minted 230 million Jamaican dollars (or $1.5 million) in digital currency to be issued to deposit-taking institutions and authorized payment service providers in early August, then issued 1 million JMD ($6,500) in CBDC to staffers.

The bank issued 5 million JMD ($32,000) worth of CBDC to the National Commercial Bank (NCB), one of the ​​island’s largest financial institutions, in October.