The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank launched its CBDC, referred to as DCash, in 2021. The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank is the central bank for Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. In 2023, Eastern Caribbean Central Bank governor Timothy Antoine said, “DCash is now in all eight member countries. With the onboarding of our marketing partner and exciting campaigns ahead, we expect DCash to become a household name in our Currency Union.”

CBDC History and Development

In 2019, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank signed a contract with the company Bitt Inc. to conduct a CBDC pilot based on blockchain technology. Eastern Caribbean Central Bank governor Timothy N. J. Antoine said, “This is not an academic exercise. Not only will the [CBDC] be the world’s first digital legal tender currency to be issued by a central bank on blockchain but this pilot is also a live CBDC deployment with a view to an eventual phased public rollout. The pilot is part of the ECCB’s Strategic Plan 2017-2021 which aims to help reduce cash usage within the ECCU by 50 per cent, promote greater financial sector stability, and expedite the growth and development of our member countries. It would be a game-changer for the way we do business.”

In the central bank’s 2019 annual report, it noted that the CBDC would be launched “to help reduce cash usage with the [Eastern Caribbean Currency Union] by 50 percent, promote greater financial sector stability, and expedite the growth and development of our member countries.”

In 2021, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank launched its CBDC.

Consumers can access the CBDC through the DCash Wallet mobile app. The CBDC was built by Bitt Inc. to run on Hyperledger Fabric and consumers can load money into their wallets by trading in cash at approved locations or by converting money from a bank account.

However, in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, most of the reviews express frustration—particularly over waiting months for accounts to be verified. Customers were also frustrated when the CBDC experienced an outage for two months in 2022. This outage meant that consumer funds were effectively frozen in place with little more than the central bank’s word that the money would eventually be available again. It was ultimately found that the CBDC outage was caused by an expired certification.

In the central bank’s 2023 annual report, it noted that there was over $900,000 worth of CBDC in circulation and the CBDC was being used by “21 participating financial institutions, 10 agencies, and close to 400 merchants within all eight ECCB member countries.” It also reported that it contracted with the company The Marketing Machine “to lead marketing and educational activities” for the CBDC. Later in 2023, the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union announced that it was looking for a new contractor to redevelop its CBDC.

Human Rights and Civil Liberties Concerns

For additional information on concerns regarding violations of human rights and civil liberties, see the following reports by Amnesty International, Financial Tyranny Index, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Privacy International, and the U.S. Department of State. For additional information on concerns regarding the risks of CBDCs, see the following webpage and report by the Cato Institute: The Risks of CBDCs and Central Bank Digital Currency: Assessing the Risks and Dispelling the Myths.

For additional information regarding metrics, the methodology page explains each of the data points and provides their respective sources.