The island nation of Bermuda is hoping to bring its entire economy on-chain with the support of American crypto exchange Coinbase and USDC stablecoin issuer Circle.
Announced at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting on Monday, Bermuda will lean on the crypto firms for digital asset infrastructure support for its government, local banks, insurers, and consumers. The goal, according to a press statement, is to create the “world’s first fully on-chain national economy.”
“Bermuda has always believed that responsible innovation is best achieved through partnership between government, regulators, and industry,” said Bermuda’s Premier E. David Burt, in a statement.
“With the support of Circle and Coinbase, two of the world’s most trusted digital finance companies, we are accelerating our vision to enable digital finance at the national level,” he added. “This initiative is about creating opportunity, lowering costs, and ensuring Bermudians benefit from the future of finance.”
The nation, which consists of around 73,000 residents according to a 2024 estimation from the CIA, primarily leans on tourism and construction and had an estimated real GDP of around $6.8 billion in 2024, ranking it 172 out of 221 nations.
Soon, those economic figures could be running on crypto rails, with its fully on-chain economy characterized as “using digital assets as everyday financial infrastructure,” according to the announcement.
The first step includes government agencies engaging in stablecoin payment pilots and financial institutions engaging with tokenization tools. Additionally, there are plans for nationwide digital literacy programs as the crypto firms aim to provide digital asset education and technical onboarding.
“Coinbase has long believed that open financial systems can drive economic freedom,” said Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong in a statement. “Bermuda’s leadership shows what’s possible when clear rules are paired with strong public-private collaboration. We are excited to support Bermuda’s transition toward an on-chain economy that empowers local businesses, consumers, and institutions.”
Ultimately, the move to an on-chain economy is expected to provide lower financial transaction costs and better access to global finance, with long-term benefits for residents and businesses.
Coinbase and Circle have a history with the island nation. In 2023, Coinbase received a license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) as part of its global expansion efforts. As far back as 2019, the nation had partnered with Circle to allow tax payments in USDC and tested its own stablecoin in 2020.
Bermuda signed the Digital Asset Business Act in 2018, becoming one of the earliest nations to regulate cryptocurrency.
Representatives for Circle and Coinbase did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.
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