Bermuda to transition ‘key’ financial services to Stellar blockchain

The government of Bermuda announced that it will begin moving payment and financial-services activities to the Stellar network as part of its plans to be a “fully on-chain national economy.”

Speaking at the Bermuda Digital Finance Forum on Tuesday, Premier David Burt said that the island nation’s government, after risk assessments, could accept and invest in digital assets. In addition, Stellar announced that Bermuda would move certain financial services onto its network in response to high transaction fees.

"The lack of mobile money applications and reliance on legacy payments infrastructure has left Bermudians paying high payment processing fees and hindered additional economic growth opportunities," said Burt. "The use of digital dollars can change that, and the Stellar network’s capacity to support public sector initiatives are what make it possible to deliver this responsibly and at the scale Bermuda requires."

Source: Stellar

Stellar is primarily classified as a Layer 1 blockchain. It is designed to facilitate fast and low-cost transactions across various currencies and assets. It powers cross-border payments, fiat on and off ramps, and stablecoin issuance for financial institutions, fintechs, and exchanges around the world.

Burt announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January that the government had partnered with Circle and Coinbase. The island nation has been attempting to establish itself as a jurisdiction friendly to crypto companies since passing its Digital Asset Business Act in 2018.

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“This is not the government, this is the private sector leading, working in concert with the government of Bermuda to go ahead and support this ecosystem,” said Burt.

David Burt speaking at Bermuda Digital Finance Forum on Tuesday. Source: SALT

Adoption of digital assets among merchants

With a gross domestic product of about $9 billion as of 2024, Bermuda remains one of the smaller economies globally, turning to implementing policies favorable to digital asset companies.

Some companies have likewise followed in expanding adoption through payments and merchants in other countries. Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit announced in April that it had expanded its services to South Africa by allowing users to pay merchants with digital assets.

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