Bermuda Now Accepts USDC Stablecoin for Tax Payments

Bermuda’s government is now offering residents the option to use USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin to pay taxes, fees, and other government services. A blog post from Circle noted that the move is part of the Bermuda government’s broader effort to support dollar-backed stablecoin use and decentralize “finance protocols and services.”

USD Coin was launched in 2018 by the CENTRE Consortium, a joint venture of Circle and the Coinbase digital currency exchange. Since its launch, the two companies have reportedly issued more than $1 billion of USDC, which is backed 1:1 with U.S. dollars.

The Circle statement acknowledged the growing interest in stablecoins, citing private projects like Facebook’s Libra as well as government-led efforts like China’s proposed central bank digital currency. Circle suggested that the broader digital currency ecosystem is also moving forward in this area, “building on existing, working public blockchains, and supporting major existing global currencies such as the US dollar.”

According to Circle, Bermuda has been a leader in digital asset regulation and industry policy, and other governments will eventually have to respond to the innovation as well. The post also singled out Bermuda’s Premier for his commitment to leading on the issue:

“Hats off to Premier David Burt, who continues to show more leadership on these issues and very much remains out ahead of other governments in the world.”