Bermuda teams up with Coinbase and Circle, aiming to build a ‘fully onchain’ economy

The Government of Bermuda said it plans to transform the island into a “fully onchain” national economy, partnering with Coinbase and Circle to deploy digital asset infrastructure across government, businesses, and consumers.

The plan, unveiled Monday at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, outlines Bermuda’s ambition to integrate blockchain-based payments and financial tools at a national level. Coinbase and Circle will provide digital asset infrastructure and enterprise tools to the Government of Bermuda, local banks, insurers, small and medium-sized businesses, and consumers. The companies also plan to support nationwide digital finance education and technical onboarding.

Discussions around the partnership began last year at the Bermuda Digital Finance Forum 2025 in May, a Coinbase spokesperson told The Block.

An onchain economy, as described by the partners, would rely on digital assets as everyday financial infrastructure. For Bermuda — a small, highly entrepreneurial economy — traditional payment rails are costly and restrictive, according to the announcement. Being grouped with Caribbean and other island jurisdictions can raise fees and limit access to onshore payment processors and fiat banking services, squeezing already thin merchant margins.

“This initiative is about creating opportunity, lowering costs, and ensuring Bermudians benefit from the future of finance,” E. David Burt, Premier of Bermuda, said in a statement.

Stablecoins such as Circle’s USDC are central to the effort. The announcement said USDC enables merchants to accept fast, low-cost, dollar-denominated payments, with several live examples already operating in the Bermudian market.

The initiative builds on Bermuda’s early move into digital asset regulation. In 2018, the country introduced the Digital Asset Business Act, one of the first comprehensive regulatory frameworks for digital assets. Circle and Coinbase were among the first global firms licensed under the regime, with Coinbase currently offering derivatives outside the U.S. through a Bermuda-based platform.

Momentum increased last year at the Bermuda Digital Finance Forum, where the government, Coinbase, and Circle executed an onchain USDC airdrop, distributing 100 USDC to each attendee for use with newly onboarded local merchants. Since then, additional Bermudian businesses have begun accepting digital payments, and local financial institutions have expanded their use of stablecoins and tokenized finance, according to the announcement.

Those efforts are expected to scale further at the Bermuda Digital Finance Forum 2026, scheduled for May 11–14. The government said the event will include broader business participation, a larger consumer stimulus, and deeper engagement across the financial services sector.

As part of the new initiative, government agencies are expected to begin piloting stablecoin-based payments, financial institutions are expected to integrate tokenization tools, and residents will participate in nationwide digital literacy programs. These steps are intended to lay the foundation for a more inclusive, competitive, and resilient national economy built on onchain infrastructure.

“The transition to an onchain economy is expected, over time, to deliver tangible benefits for residents and businesses,” the announcement said. “Benefits include lower transaction costs and providing greater access to global finance through modern digital wallets, and infrastructure that keeps economic value circulating locally.”

The government’s partnership with Coinbase and Circle is non-exclusive, meaning Bermuda can also work with other firms and technologies, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told The Block. The person added that the onchain economy initiative is aspirational, with no mandatory requirement for residents or businesses to adopt onchain tools.

Separately, Coinbase today announced the launch of its previously disclosed Coinbase Custom Stablecoins, a “stablecoin-as-a-service” product that allows businesses to create custom-branded stablecoins backed 1:1 by a flexible mix of USDC and other U.S. dollar stablecoins without building their own infrastructure. Coinbase said stablecoins have become “the backbone of the onchain economy,” noting that they enabled $9 trillion in adjusted annual transaction volume in 2025 alone.

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