The Government of Bermuda has announced its strategy to become a fully onchain national economy with support from Circle and Coinbase.
Following this announcement, Circle and Coinbase will provide their digital asset infrastructure and enterprise tools to the Government of Bermuda, as well as to local banks, insurers, small and medium-sized businesses, and consumers. In addition, the companies also plan to support the overall nationwide digital finance education, as well as several technical onboarding strategies.
Supporting Bermuda’s transition toward an onchain economy that empowers local businesses, consumers, and institutions
According to the official press release, an onchain economy refers to using digital assets as everyday financial infrastructure. For a country like Bermuda, traditional payment rails can be expensive and restrictive. Moreover, while being classified alongside Caribbean and other island jurisdictions, onshore payment processors and local fiat banking rails also drive up fees and squeeze already thin merchant margins. With this in mind, digital finance aims to provide an opportunity for a new model.
Through the use of USDC, merchants and businesses will be given the possibility to accept fast, low-cost, dollar-denominated payments, as now there are also multiple live examples in the Bermudian market, demonstrating how onchain payments allow individuals to transact locally, as well as supporting economic activity, and meeting compliance obligations in a modern, efficient way.
Moreover, with the support of Circle and Coinbase, the institution will be given the possibility of accelerating the strategy of enabling digital finance at the national level. This initiative will also focus on developing new opportunities, lowering costs, providing improved access to global finance through modern digital wallets, an infrastructure that keeps economic value circulating locally, as well as ensuring Bermudians benefit from the future of finance.
Government agencies are expected to begin piloting stablecoin-based payments, while financial institutions will focus on integrating tokenization tools, and residents will participate in nationwide digital literacy programs, aiming to accelerate the development of a more inclusive, competitive, and resilient national economy.
