Bermuda government partners with Coinbase and Circle: "Transitioning to a fully onchain economy"

The government of Bermuda is joining forces with Coinbase, the largest crypto (cryptocurrency) exchange in the United States, and Circle, the issuer of the U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC, to build a nationwide “fully onchain economy.”

On the 19th (local time) at the World Economic Forum (WEF, Davos), a Coinbase representative told The Block in an interview that “through this collaboration, the Bermuda government plans to build digital asset infrastructure spanning government agencies, businesses and consumers, and to shift the broader national economy onto a blockchain-based foundation.”

Under the partnership, Coinbase and Circle will provide digital asset infrastructure and onchain financial tools for businesses to the Bermuda government as well as local banks, insurers, SMEs and everyday consumers. They also plan to support digital finance education and technical onboarding programs across Bermuda to expand real-world use of blockchain-based payments and financial services.

Coinbase said this is “a case of adopting blockchain-based payments and financial tools at the national level,” adding that “Bermuda is seeking to move beyond being merely a crypto hub and build a leading model in which public administration, finance and the real economy are connected onchain.”

The collaboration is being watched as a case of a “national-level digital economic transition” leveraging stablecoins and onchain financial infrastructure, and whether it could influence policy directions in other countries going forward.