Samenvatting

In recent years, the debate about the design of the monetary system has become increasingly prevalent. A major topic within this debate is central bank digital currency or CBDC for short. A survey by the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) shows that in 2022, nine in ten central banks (CB) explored a digital variant of their own currency (Kosse & Mattei, 2022). In the euro area, the European Central Bank (ECB) is conducting a wide-range study of the pros and cons of a CBDC, in the form of a digital euro. Other CBs are at different stages of the research cycle. The Chinese central bank is experimenting extensively with its e-CNY and has been conducting research since 2014 (Luo, 2022; Prasad, 2021). The Swedish Riksbank published its first report on the possible designs and effects of the e-krona in September 2017 (Sveriges Riksbank, 2017). Against all these various studies and experiments is the Bahamian Sand dollar, the world's first, by 2020, fully implemented CBDC. The Bahamas is not the only country; in 2022, Jamaica fully introduced the JAM-DEX (CBDC Tracker, 2023). Since CBDCs are a relatively new phenomenon, there is logically little empirical data to support the potential advantages and disadvantages. The fully implemented Sand dollar can confirm or refute some of the claimed theoretical advantages and disadvantages, and lessons can be distilled from this case for the introduction of other CBDCs. This paper first discusses the (theoretical) motivations for implementing the Sand dollar, then discusses its operation and current low adaptation rates. Finally, it derives lessons that can be used in other CBDC cases.