Guyana’s Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, says the country is not ready to regulate or facilitate cryptocurrency transactions. He made the statement at the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo, emphasizing that significant financial reforms must come first.
“The answer is, no, not at this time,” Jagdeo said when asked whether the government is considering regulations for cryptocurrency transactions. “We’ve been exploring it. We’ve been studying this.”
Cryptocurrency is a type of digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security. Unlike traditional money issued by governments (like the US dollar or Guyana dollar), cryptocurrencies operate on decentralized networks based on blockchain technology. This means no central authority, such as a bank or government, controls them. Bitcoin, launched in 2009, was the first cryptocurrency, and since then, thousands of others have been created, including Ethereum, Binance Coin, and Tether. Cryptocurrencies can be used for transactions, investments, or even powering decentralized applications. Their value can be highly volatile, and regulations vary by country. Some governments embrace them, while others restrict or ban their use due to concerns about security, fraud, and financial stability.
Jagdeo stressed that the financial sector must evolve to support Guyana’s economic growth. “We think that the financial sector can become a bottleneck—can slow down the massive growth that we’re seeing —if it doesn’t expand in complexity and instruments,” he said.
He explained that the government is working to modernize financial services before considering cryptocurrency. “We are trying to drag it out of the stone ages into an environment that is appropriate to support the expansion in the real sector,” he said.
Jagdeo did not rule out cryptocurrency in the future but insisted that its introduction would require strict regulations. “Once we get to that level of complexity, then I think we can layer it on with things like crypto, provided the appropriate safeguards are found and instituted,” he said.
