THE Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) had received an interest from an individual who wants to start a bitcoin business in Fiji.
Deputy Governor Esala Masitabua revealed this during the discussions on digital transformation held at the 2026 FICA Congress in Nadi last Friday.
“We have heard throughout today this morning how digital transformation is reshaping every part of life as we know it,” he said.
“And for us in the finance sector it’s no different.
“Just yesterday (Thursday) I got an email from the office saying that someone wanted to discuss opening a bitcoin business in Fiji.
“So, it is challenging for us, we talk about it in the finance and central banks sector, talking about artificial intelligence (AI) and digital currencies transforming it.
“It’s also transforming how central banks view their mandate to the nation – central banks look at external stability and that means adequate foreign reserves to enable us to trade and also that it supports the value of our currency and internally we want to ensure that there is monitoring conditions that supports economic activity.”
He said that stability was the best way to promote economic growth.
“Economic growth is a relative thing and I know some of us want to grow faster and we all want to grow faster, we all want better roads, better hospitals but for small developing nations, sometimes we have other challenges like climate change.
“And I’m very grateful that I’m here to talk about how this digital transformation, how we see it from the Reserve Bank and how we think about it.
“So, I thought the best way to talk about is through some of the lessons we have learned through the digital transformation journey and I have heard the digital transformation journey from Microsoft and KPMG.
“For us the Reserve Bank of Fiji – in 2007 we launched the Real Time Gross Settlement System and not long after that Vodafone came knocking on our doors, we had to launch an E-Money or as you all know it M-PAiSA, and more recently we have launched the National Payment System and we are on the cusp of doing QR Codes and more electronic funds transfer.”
In August last year, the Government officially outlawed all cryptocurrency and virtual asset-related services in Fiji through an amendment of the Reserve Bank of Fiji Act 1983, which came into force on August 30, 2025.
In the amended law, anyone involved in such activities could face fines up to $1 million or 14 years in prison.
