The goal at the moment is to connect people with blockchain technology. Bermuda reaffirms its friendly stance towards the use of new technologies in financial services.
Bermuda is testing a local digital dollar as a first step towards the adoption of blockchain-based payments. Canadian fintech company Bidali, along with local authorities, has launched this pilot project to accredit the technology and allow people to start experimenting with it.
Currently, the digital currency of the project, based on the Bermudian dollar, is only valid to buy in the store of Gosling’s Limited, the most recognized brand of Rum in the Caribbean island, which is celebrating the re-launching of its retail store for alcoholic beverages.
Ambrose Gosling, Chief Financial Officer of Gosling’s Limited, told the media: “This company is the largest exporter and the oldest trading house in Bermuda. We are honored by the opportunity to work with Bidali and the FinTech office on this project.
Work With Bidali and the FinTech Ofice on this Project
By doing so, we contribute to the growth and development of this payment solution, which we believe has the potential to generate efficiencies and significant cost savings.”
The first stage of this project is under Penrose Partners’ coordination. Penrose Partners is an emerging technology consulting firm from Canada and Bermuda, which led workshops to train people on cryptocurrency payment technology.
Although the pilot project is going on a small scale, it is the first time that the Stellar network serves real-world transactions with a national government’s support.
Bermuda might be Joining the Global Financial System
Denis Pitcher, the chief financial technology adviser, said that since there are 60,000 people, it seems to show excellent conditions to show what is possible to do as this technology evolves.
Pitcher also explained that Bermuda does not have access to payment platforms currently operating in other countries, such as PayPal or Square. Under these conditions, he considers that cryptocurrency platforms can link to the island with the global financial system.
Pitcher knows that there are many challenges to achieve the goal of consolidating an emerging digital economy. One of those might be the banks’ consensus, the foreign debt that might be surpassing the 3 billion dollars, the novelty of this technology, among others. Thanks to the laws that Bermuda approves, many companies are eager to participate with more clarity and confidence.
Bermuda Shows More Crypto-Friendly laws
Bermuda’s digital dollar initiative began in 2018 when the country launched a new licensing regime for companies and made a proposal regarding a regulatory framework around the cryptocurrency ecosystem with the Digital Asset Business Act.
This law provides a beautiful legal basis for FinTech. Such law includes cryptocurrency and blockchain companies to have an ideal field to experiment and demonstrate their technology’s value over other traditional systems.
By: Jenson Nuñez
