Virgin Islands (British) CBDC Tracker

The British Virgin Islands is in the research phase of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) development. Although reports suggested that a digital currency was launched, there are no other available reports to confirm what happened.

CBDC History and Development

In 2019, the company LIFElabs announced that it had partnered with the government to create a CBDC. In the announcement, Premier and Minister of Finance Andrew A. Fahie said, “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.” The announcement avoided using the term “CBDC.” That could have been because the term was still gaining use at the time or because the British Virgin Islands does not have its own central bank. It is unclear whether the project ever got off the ground.

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.