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Canadian fintech firm Bidali has reportedly launched a pilot to test a digital Bermuda dollar with the support of the Bermuda government. Under the pilot program, popular local rum company Gosling's Limited will be accepting digital Bermuda dollars through the Stellar network. From there it hopes to expand to other businesses in Bermuda. Bermuda is a British island territory that does not have a central bank and the Bermuda dollar is pegged one-to-one to the U.S. dollar - it's effectively a non-digital government-issued stablecoin with one USD in reserve for every Bermuda Dollar that's issued. Also, since 2019, Bermudans have been able to pay taxes with USDC stablecoins.

The government of Bermuda has commenced a pilot of a digital stimulus token in partnership with local private payments platform Stablehouse, which is expected to provide initial feedback on the viability of digital tokens in facilitating the purchase of essential products and services. In 2019, Bermuda began developing a blockchain-based digital ID system and announced that the public could pay their taxes with USDC stablecoins. The development of the stimulus token kicked off later in the year as part of the government's larger initiative to create a comprehensive crypto ecosystem on the island that supports the adoption of digital currencies. The pilot token is based on Blockstream's Liquid blockchain protocol while the Greenwallet app will enable payments via a point-of-sale terminal provided by Stablehouse.

ChainThat has been approved as the first company to join The Bermuda Monetary Authority's (BMA) Innovation Hub and will house its Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) driven risk and capital exchange there for the duration of its trial period.

Due to mounting regulatory pressures in the United States, the Circle is moving the majority of its exchange operations to Bermuda, where it received a full Digital Assets Business Act license its crypto exchange Poloniex. 70% of Poloniex users hail from beyond the U.S.

The Government of Bermuda announced Wednesday it will accept payments in USD Coin (USDC) "for taxes, fees and other government services," according to a press release by crypto finance startup Circle.

The Bermuda-based Coinbase International Exchange launched following regulatory approval from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA). It will initially offer Bitcoin and Ethereum perpetual futures settled in USD Coin (USDC) only to qualified institutional clients outside of the United States through an application Programming interface (API). According to Coinbase, perpetual futures accounted for nearly 75% of global crypto trading volume in 2022, and Coinbase's offerings will allow leverage of up to 5x. https://www.coinbase.com/blog/introducing-coinbase-international-exchange

In September 2021, Denis Pitcher, chief fintech adviser to the Premier of Bermuda said "we're not particularly interested in creating a unifying technical solution that's going to solve all problems at digitizing money for a country, because it's hard to see how that really can exist."

What happened with Canadian crypto exchange QuadrigaCX would not have happened if it had been licensed under the Bermuda Monetary Authority, because it has rules regarding the custody of master keys and making sure they're not held by a particular individual.

The Government of Bermuda, saying that the risks of launching its own digital currency outweigh the opportunities, will accept payments in stablecoins fully backed by U.S. dollars for taxes, fees and other government services, starting with USDC.

Coinbase provided an update on its plan to establish bases of operation in jurisdictions that will let it do what U.S. regulators insist are illegal, like offering crypto derivatives and unregistered securities to the public. The firm is working with several "high-bar" international regulators to establish regulated entities abroad that safely facilitate trading solutions and provide products the crypto community demands. For instance, Coinbase has received a Class F license under the Digital Asset Business Act from the Bermuda Monetary Authority, under which it will shortly launch a derivatives exchange.

The Bermuda Monetary Authority and the Wyoming Division of Banking will co-operate to facilitate the establishment of digital assets entities across jurisdictions and their effective supervision.

A digital ID solution for citizens, businesses and government bodies, the Perseid e-ID project is being carried out in partnership with identity program Perseid Network and decentralized credential verification protocol Shyft Network.

Cryptocurrency trading platform and custodian Gemini Trust Company announced Thursday that it has launched its own in-house insurance unit to protect client's funds against loss. Dubbed Nakmoto, the unit is a captive insurance company licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority. The subsidiary covers losses up to $200 million for customers of the firm's Gemini Custody solution, which is an offline cryptocurrency cold storage service.

CrossTower, based in Bermuda, is launching a hedge fund in a bid to compete with Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and other bitcoin funds for accredited investors. The minimum investment amount is $100,000 and CrossTower has $20 million in AUM from early investors to start. The product has seen the most interest from family offices.

Bermuda-based Bittrex Global will be listing tokenized stocks on its digital asset exchange in cooperation with DigitalAssets.AG. This product will allow traders and investors direct access to listed companies without having to use an external broker or pay additional fees. Shares can be purchased using either US dollars (USD), Tether (USDT) or Bitcoin (BTC), twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The tokenized stocks available through Bittrex Global will allow customers to purchase a fraction of a stock without needing to purchase entire shares.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is in talks with potential technology partners to develop a new system to run and manage its eNaira central bank digital currency (CBDC). The CBN wants to develop its own CBDC software so that it can keep full control of the underlying technology. The CBN, in collaboration with Bermuda-based Bitt inc., launched the eNaira in October 2021 which, like other CBDC pilots and launches, has struggled to win wide adoption, although not necessarily because of the technology platform.

Some U.S. crypto firms are looking for bank accounts offshore. Sygnum in Switzerland and Bank Frick in Lichtenstein have seen an increase in requests to open accounts, and industry sources have pointed to SEBA Bank in Switzerland, FV Bank in Puerto Rico and Jewel Bank in Bermuda, EQIBank in Dominica, as well as Tether and FTX-tied Deltec in the Bahamas, as options for U.S. dollar-based banking. However, only crypto companies that are regulated and have proper compliance and governance will likely be able to access non-U.S. banks.