Journalist
Hassan Shittu
Journalist
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Bermuda is moving to place blockchain infrastructure at the center of its national economy, unveiling plans to build what officials describe as a “fully on-chain” financial system through partnerships with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and stablecoin issuer Circle.
It was unveiled on Monday at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, when executives of both companies announced a model, with Bermuda Premier David Burt attending to detail a model that would integrate digital assets into daily payments, financial services, and governmental functions.
In the case of Bermuda, which is a small island economy comprising about 65,000 residents, the push is a long-standing struggle with conventional financial rails.
Like most of the Caribbean jurisdictions, merchants and institutions are frequently charged high fees, have little access to onshore banking partners, and have slow settlement times as a result of de-risking by global banks.
The government reports that such frictions have been a burden on the competitiveness and margins, especially for small and medium-sized businesses.
The proposed on-chain framework is intended to bypass some of those constraints by relying on dollar-denominated stablecoins and blockchain-based settlement instead of correspondent banking networks.
Bermuda Pushes USDC Into Daily Commerce With Coinbase-Backed Pilot
Under the partnership, Bermuda will work with Circle’s USDC stablecoin and Coinbase’s Base infrastructure to pilot stablecoin-based payments across government agencies, financial institutions, and local businesses.
The first phase will focus on payments, tokenization tools for financial institutions, and nationwide digital literacy programs designed to help residents understand and safely use digital finance products.
Burt said the goal is to create opportunity and ensure Bermudians benefit directly from changes in the global financial system.
The announcement builds on groundwork laid years earlier when Bermuda introduced the Digital Asset Business Act in 2018, overseen by the Bermuda Monetary Authority.
Since then, more than 40 digital asset firms have been licensed or admitted into regulatory sandboxes overseen by the Bermuda Monetary Authority.
Coinbase and Circle were among the earliest global firms approved under the regime, and Coinbase currently operates a derivatives platform from Bermuda for non-U.S. users.
Momentum picked up further in 2025 at the Bermuda Digital Finance Forum, where the government, Coinbase, and Circle tested real-world adoption through an on-chain USDC airdrop.
Attendees received 100 USDC, which could be spent with newly onboarded local merchants.
The government noted that the experiment led to more Bermudian businesses accepting digital payments and deeper engagement from local financial institutions.
Officials say those efforts will expand at the Bermuda Digital Finance Forum 2026, scheduled for May, with broader business participation and a larger consumer stimulus component.
Bermuda Frames USDC as a Commerce Upgrade
USDC is a fundamental component of the strategy, as it is fully pegged to dollar-based reserves, and merchants can take payments through fast and low-cost methods without the risk of changes in the prices of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
Some Bermudian companies are already paying in USDC, and the government believes it is a means to have the modernized deal and remain tied to the U.S. dollar.
The project will be voluntary, and no resident or business is obliged to use on-chain tools, and the collaboration with Coinbase and Circle is not exclusive.
Instead, the strategy is framed as an incremental transition, with education programs and incentives designed to encourage uptake over time.
Officials see on-chain infrastructure as a way to strengthen that position while opening access to global capital markets for local firms.
In the country, there is no income or capital gains tax on digital assets, and the government has taken a compliance-first approach that emphasizes licensing, audits, and reserve requirements for stablecoin issuers.
