Around the New Year, we posted about the pilot program launched in the Bahamas for its central bank digital currency (CBDC), known as the Sand Dollar. It has apparently been successful because Bloomberg is reporting that the country will roll out the e-currency nationwide in October.
Sand Dollar transfers are made by mobile phone. Each Sand Dollar is pegged to the Bahamian dollar, which is, in turn, pegged to the U.S. dollar. There are, currently only 48,000 Sand Dollars in circulation. As Bloomberg reported, new Sand Dollars will be “minted” as demand grows and will only be issued when physical Bahamian dollars are retired to keep from skewing monetary policy. Also, Sand Dollar accounts are subject to the same rules as traditional bank accounts, with anti-money-laundering and know-your-client safeguards in place.
Bahamas thus hopes to be the first to launch a successful CBDC. Venezuela has not found success with its national cryptocurrency, the Petro. China announced in late 2019 its plans concerning a CBDC but the expectations are that its launch is not imminent.
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David Zaslowsky
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David Zaslowsky is partner in the Litigation Department of Baker McKenzie's New York office. He helps companies solve complex commercial disputes in arbitration and litigation, especially those involving cross-border issues and Section 1782 discovery. David has a degree in computer science and, as a result, has worked on numerous technology-related disputes, including, most recently, those involving blockchain and artificial intelligence. In April 2025, Attorney Intel named David one of the top 25 blockchain lawyers in the country. He is the editor of the Firm's blockchain blog and co-editor of the firm's International Litigation & Arbitration Newsletter. David has been included for a number of years in the Chambers USA Guide and Chambers Global Guide for his expertise in international arbitration. He also sits as an arbitrator and is on the roster of arbitrators for a number of arbitral institutions. David sits on the Board and chairs the governance committee of the New York International Arbitration Center, and is a founding member of the International Arbitration Club of New York. For over 35 years, he has written and spoken often on the subjects of arbitration and international litigation.