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So Jamaica officially has its own digital currency… but is it secure? And how can you get some? On this episode of Taking Stock, I have an exclusive sit down with the Founder and CEO of eCurrency, Jonathan Dharmapalan... And BOJ Deputy Governor, Natalie Haynes, will tell us about the central bank’s rollout plan. And later, THE ANALYSTS weigh in on the latest market developments…. Jamaican Teas net profits are up 8-million dollars... And over in the US, inflation is spreading to more parts of the economy…While Target is benefiting from an increase in spending... TAKING STOCK - The Caribbean's #1 Business and Finance Show! Doing business and investing in Jamaica and the Caribbean LET’S GET THIS MONEY! ****************** OUR SEGMENTS: 2:11- What’s Hot in Business 7:23- Discussion on Jamaica officially having its own digital currency 28:35- Market Recap 30:35- The Analysts ******************* SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER: kalilahreynolds.com/newsletter ****************** COMMUNITY TAB Are you interested in using Jamaica's new digital currency? https://www.youtube.com/c/kalilahrey/community RELATED TO THIS VIDEO: TAKING STOCK- JAMAICAN DOLLAR GOING DIGITAL IN 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ifcqt9awICs&t=1626s TAKING STOCK - WILLIAM MAHFOOD'S COVID PLAN; FAST FOOD CLOSING; FINANCIAL STOCKS HIT...AND MORE!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qHKQm3jnac&t=1058s TAKING STOCK- SHOULD YOU INVEST IN CRYPTOCURRENCY? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cot8gLNctHg&t=1453s TAKING STOCK - ARE ICE CREAM PRICES GOING UP? (Ideal Analyst, Dwayne Taylor speaks about the millions of Americans fearing eviction from their homes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufs6tyt3VBU&t=2034s ****************** CONTACT THE ANALYSTS: Dwayne Taylor Wealth Advisor Ideal Portfolio Services https://www.idealgroupjm.com/ 17 Ripon Road, Kingston 5 Telephone - (876) 960-6389 ext 239 Jodian Aris Research and Strategy Analyst Sagicor Investments https://www.sagicor.com/en-jm/personal-solution/investment Julian Morrison - Assistant Manager, Private Equity at PROVEN Management https://provenwealth.com 26 Belmont Road, Kgn. 5, Jamaica W.I. Tel: +1 876 908 3800 1 IG/Twitter: @julianinvests ****************** VISIT OUR SPONSORS: JMMB - Your best interest at heart! https://jm.jmmb.com/ Bulwark Insurance Agent Insurance made easy https://bulwarkja.com Massy United Insurance How good is your insurance? https://www.massyunitedinsurance.com/jamaica/ Sagicor - Think wealth, think Sagicor Investments! https://www.sagicor.com/en-jm/persona... PROVEN Wealth https://provenwealth.com/ ****************** EPISODE CAST: Natalie Haynes, Deputy Governor in charge of Banking and Currency Bank of Jamaica Jonathan Dharmapalan, Founder and CEO eCurrency The Analysts: Dwayne Taylor Linkedin- https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwayneotaylor Julian Morrison IG/Twitter: @julianinvests_ Jodian Aris IG @jodiansweetpea --------------------------------------------------

Xiaochen Zhang, Thomas Kudrycki, Raul Morales Resendiz, Dr. Jiaying Christine, Stefan Andjelic

This session will consider the potential of digital currencies (i.e. CBDCs and stablecoins) for bridging the financial inclusion gap. According to the World Bank, some 1.7 billion adults worldwide do not have access to financial services. However, digital currencies could potentially offer low-cost, safe, real-time payments and therefore could be used In government programs and remittances. Moderator: Stephanie Lelaurin​​, Blockchain for Impact Specialist, Asociación Cultural para el Desarrollo Integral (ACDI)​, Argentina Bejoy Das Gupta, Chief Economist, eCurrency, United States of America Chris Ostrowski​, Global Head, Public Sector Engagement, Celo, United States of America Xiaochen Zhang​, Principal Manager, Amazon AWS, United States of America Fatemeh Fannizadeh​, Crypto Legal Advisor, Switzerland​ Kathryn White​, Accenture Fellow, World Economic Forum

Architecture options for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) Central banks worldwide are actively exploring issuance of digital currencies and are confronted with a wide range of policy and technology challenges. This session will explore the architecture options from both a policy and technology standpoint for retail and wholesale CBDC designs. Moderator: Peter Kerstens​, Advisor, European Commission​ Peerapong Thonnagith, Assistant Director & Technical Lead, Digital Currency Team, Bank of Thailand Julio Faura​, CEO, Adhara.io Jonathan Dharmapalan, CEO, eCurrency, United States of America ​Geoffrey Goodell​, Lecturer, University College London

An animated explainer video introduces the concept of digital fiat currency powered by eCurrency technology

Connect with the House Financial Services Committee Get the latest news: https://financialservices.house.gov/ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HouseFinancialCmte Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FSCDems ___________________________________ On Tuesday, June 15, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. (ET) Task Force on Financial Technology Chairman Lynch and Ranking Member Emmer will host a virtual hearing entitled, “Digitizing the Dollar: Investigating the Technological Infrastructure, Privacy, and Financial Inclusion Implications of Central Bank Digital Currencies." - - - - - - - - Witnesses for this one-panel hearing will be: • Mrs. Carmelle Cadet, Founder and CEO, EMTECH • Mr. Jonathan Dharmapalan, Founder and CEO, eCurrency • Mr. Rohan Grey, Assistant Professor of Law, Willamette University • Dr. Neha Narula, Director of the Digital Currency Initiative, MIT Media Lab • Dr. Jenny Gesley, Foreign Law Specialist, Library of Congress Overview Traditional electronic payment systems are electronic representations of fiat currency and require a network of financial intermediaries who maintain accurate ledgers. Since 2008, a new digital asset class that uses cryptography and distributed ledger technology (DLT) has gained prominence and value in the global economy. These digital assets, often called cryptocurrencies, usually require no centralized intermediary to buy, sell, or exchange since the ledgers are public, mathematically verified, and stored on a distributed network of computers. However, the rise of decentralized cryptocurrencies and private digital currencies has helped spur debate around the concept of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), which would be issued by a government’s central bank – such as the Federal Reserve System (Fed) – and would replicate some features of cryptocurrencies. A CBDC is generally considered a digital payment instrument that is a direct liability of a central bank, but since implementation is, by definition, left to each sovereign state, CBDC designs will inevitably vary. In response to rapid innovation in digital assets across the globe, the Fed, the central banking system of the U.S., has shown greater involvement and interest over the past several years, as demonstrated by the launch of a multi-year collaboration between the Boston Fed and MIT to code and test a hypothetical CBDC. This hearing will explore CBDC’s potential design trade-offs of various technological infrastructures and examine consumer privacy implications and the potential for increased financial inclusion. Current State of CBDCs in the U.S. The Fed has played a lead role in the research of a potential U.S.-issued CBDC. Fed Governor Lael Brainard credits four growing developments with CBDCs: “the growing role of digital private money, the migration to digital payments, plans for the use of foreign CBDCs in cross-border payments, and concerns about financial exclusion.” Although in late 2019, the Fed stated that it was not developing a CBDC but would be analyzing potential benefits and costs as well as legal issues, by August 2020, the Fed announced two initiatives to explore the technical challenges of supporting a CBDC. Project Hamilton, announced in 2020, is a multi-year collaboration between the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to code and test new technologies that could support the speed, security, privacy, and resiliency required of a hypothetical CBDC. Project Hamilton plans to release a white paper update in the third quarter of 2021 on any hypothetical digital currency platform, with any computer code utilized in the research to be released under an open source license. This open source license will allow the public to engage, review, and modify the experimental research software used in creating a possible CBDC. This research will also include a comparative analysis of existing and developmental private-sector and open source platforms.10 The second initiative directs the Fed’s Technology Lab, a multidisciplinary team who are experts in payments, economics, law, information technology, and computer science, to explore CBDC policy issues. Additionally, Fed Chair Jerome Powell announced in May 2021 that the Fed plans to publish a discussion paper for public comment in summer 2021 focused on CBDC benefits and risks. In his announcement, Chair Powell made clear that “any potential CBDC could serve as a complement to, and not a replacement of, cash and current private-sector digital forms of the dollar, such as deposits at commercial banks.” Current State of CBDCs in the Global Context Many governments are researching, testing, preparing to launch, or have launched pilot CBDCs. While China was one of the first large markets to formally start investigating CBDCs in 2014, after private companies such as Facebook proposed their own... Hearing page: https://financialservices.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=407953

Retail Central Bank Digital Currencies as an alternative to physical cash is an enticing prospect for many countries; it would significantly reduce costs associated with printing money, ensure the general public has access to central bank issued currency, and could counter illegal acts such as money laundering. However, the most crucial characteristic of cash is the trust that the public has in it. Despite the potential benefits, it is not clear if CBDC will, in fact, replace cash. In the face of this challenge, how can CBDC garner the trust that cash holds? What design elements can ensure that it is accepted widely? Speakers: Hanna Armelius, Senior Advisor, Payments Department, Analysis and Policy Division, Sveriges Riksbank Jonathan Dharmapalan, Chief Executive Officer, eCurrency Neha Narula, Director, Digital Currency Initiative, MIT Media Lab Scott Hendry, Senior Special Director, Financial Technology (FinTech) at Bank of Canada Moderator: Rajesh Bansal, Senior Advisor, Technology & Society Program, Carnegie India

Crypto currencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin, Peercoin and Ripple generate ever more enthusiasm. Blockchain is said to pose the potential of platforms for nearly all data. Will central banks be able to reassert control? Will a digital fiat currency, backed and minted by those banks, be the future of digital money? (In association with Omidyar Network)