This post focuses on the regulatory environment in Bermuda, a British Overseas Territory and financial services hub that is emerging as a global center for the regulation of cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based distributed ledgers.
Bermuda has a long history of providing an environment conducive to the development and implementation of rules, regulations and policies based on international standards and best practices. This historic perspective has established the island as one of the most forward-thinking jurisdictions globally when it comes to business and investment. The island’s willingness to embrace new ideas, technologies and concepts has seen it develop into a leading location for legal and financial services, as well as becoming a pioneer in the field of Blockchain technology.
The current regulatory landscape for crypto-related businesses in Bermuda provides a safe harbour for companies to operate confidently in this emergent industry. It also provides a platform for innovation, experimentation, research and development with all parties involved benefiting from this process. In this post we will look at some of the key aspects of this regulatory environment that have helped to foster such positive outcomes.
In the last decade, governments around the world have been cracking down on cryptocurrencies.
Bermuda, however, has been providing a safe harbor for its cryptocurrency industry: A place where world-class blockchain and fintech companies can test their products and gain access to capital without having to worry about regulation.
The result is a new era of innovation in Bermuda’s fintech sector.
Blockchain technology has been around for some 10 years now and is yet to permeate the mainstream. This is especially true in Bermuda, a jurisdiction that has been at the forefront of this technology’s adoption from the start.
Bermuda is often heralded as one of the world’s most crypto-friendly jurisdictions. We have been hosting Crypto Valley, the world’s leading blockchain innovation hub, since 2015. The island has some of the best talent in blockchain and fintech, and its regulatory framework has enabled all types of new ventures to thrive and prosper.
In June 2017, we hosted a major conference on Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology in our capital city Hamilton. The conference was attended by more than 200 people from across the globe. Many are still trying to understand what this technology actually is and how they can use it to further their businesses or projects. The conference provided answers to many questions: where did this technology come from? Is it worth investing in? What will be its implications for business? And how can it be used to solve real-world problems?
Bermuda is one of only two places in the world that allows for cryptocurrency trading on its shores. This means you can buy bitcoin here; you don’t have to go elsewhere if you
In the past decade, a lot has happened in the world of information technology. The Internet has grown to become one of the most significant advances in human history. We have also begun to witness a resurgence of interest in cryptography, and some of it recently has been driven by the Bitcoin phenomenon.
The average person is probably unaware that Bermuda is legally required to treat Bitcoin as money, allowing its use by corporations and governments alike. And yet, despite its small size, no other country can match Bermuda’s level of regulation.
Bermuda’s regulatory framework has made it a magnet for those seeking to set up businesses to benefit from blockchain technology. It is not just central banks that want access to this emerging market – there are also companies involved in digital currency trading and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) who would like to use the island as their base on which to develop their own blockchain-based products and services.
In fact, since its incorporation in 1614 as the smallest British overseas territory, Bermuda has consistently been at the forefront of global developments in financial services and regulation.
In the 1990s, as financial technology was in its infancy, Bermuda was able to take the lead. As an offshore financial center, it is well positioned to benefit from blockchain’s ability to make digital transactions faster and more secure.
Bermuda’s history dates back to 1609 when Sir Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, purchased a 200-acre plot of land on the island’s west coast. The town was officially founded in 1612 when the first governor, Sir John Berry, sailed into port.
By 1620, the town’s harbor had become so popular that it was renamed Southampton after the port town in England.
During a visit by Charles II in 1672, it became known as St. George’s Town in honor of the British monarch and was granted borough status. By 1690, some 3,000 people inhabited St. George’s Town and it had become one of the most important commercial centers in the British Empire, with trade between Europe and the Americas.
In 1845 it became part of Bermuda – a dependency of Britain which made it a colony within itself – and two years later Queen Victoria knighted its Governor Sir Hamilton Joseph Knight and appointed him Governor-in-Chief of Bermuda
The name of this blog is a play on the word “blockchain”. The use of blockchain technology has been described as a “tipping point” for the internet, and for some observers, it may also bring about a “decentralized internet”. However, the use of blockchain technology is not confined to cryptocurrencies: The technology can be applied to other fields too.
For example, it can be used in connection with intellectual property rights, such as patents or trademarks. It can be used to solve problems relating to financial transactions (such as e-commerce) and in the field of supply chain management. It can even be used in connection with government functions (for example, by government agencies or regulators).
When the price of gold was soaring in the early 1980s, a Bermuda company called Goldcorp set up an offshore subsidiary to buy and sell gold. But its directors decided that, as soon as the price started to drop, they’d close the operation down and sell the gold on market conditions. As far as anyone knew, no one outside the company had any access to the gold.
The directors’ idea worked. When it came time to liquidate their assets, they were able to do so at a higher price than if they had kept selling on market conditions. They were also able to control their assets because no one knew what they looked like. It was easy for them to transfer them from one vault abroad to another.
As long as no one knew who owned what or where it was located, you couldn’t get your hands on it just by asking nicely. You needed paperwork and other forms of official permission: an offshore account in a bank or trust registered in Jersey or Guernsey or Liechtenstein; a letter from an offshore firm saying you’re acting on behalf of someone else; a passport or other ID card with a different name; and so on. And then there were all the ways of getting round those forms of permission: forging them,