The Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) has selected Toronto-based fintech company Blockstation to explore the possibility of offering cryptocurrency trading on the local platform.
Consequently, the JSE based in Kingston has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Canadian company, paving the way for further collaboration.
JSE Managing Director Marlene Street Forrest says the service would satisfy considerable investor interest in digital assets.
“We are also proud to be at the forefront of bringing innovation to capital markets,” said Street Forrest in a joint statement with Blockstation. “We are very comfortable moving forward based on the training and support provided by Blockstation, and because their trading platform incorporates familiar compliance rules to ensure a fair marketplace,” she said.
Efforts at comment from the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ), which regulates foreign exchange, electronic payments and mobile money, were unsuccessful up to press time on whether the JSE’s ambitions would require its oversight.
BOJ is wary about virtual currencies but has not formalised a policy around the issue to date. In February of this year, the central bank issued a release citing potential benefits from blockchain technology for financial inclusion, but warned that virtual currencies are not legal tender in Jamaica, and that the BOJ up to that point had not authorised any entity to operate a virtual currency platform.
A live workshop on cryptocurrency trading was completed with an initial group of five JSE broker members and representatives of local regulators, according to Blockstation.
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