The Bermuda government has announced that it has begun testing the Bermudian Dollar Token (BMDT) digital currency pegged to the Bermuda dollar.
Denis Pitcher, chief financial adviser to the Prime Minister of Bermuda, said the BMDT would be used to distribute financial aid to the public. The development of this stable cryptocurrency has been carried out since the end of last year by the startup Stablehouse.
The authorities intend to examine whether Bermuda residents will be able to pay with digital coins for groceries and other essentials. To date, three vendors and 20 individual users are participating in BMDT testing. Pitcher said that a dedicated digital Bermuda dollar wallet will be introduced in the future, which will be used by about 60,000 Bermuda residents.
The BMDT will be produced by Stablehouse, which was opened last year by XBTO founder and Interim CEO Philippe Bekhazi. Stablehouse will also provide dedicated POS terminals and a Green Wallet, which will allow the stablecoin to be stored offline. BMDT will operate on Blockstream’s Liquid sidechain. Stablehouse added that Phil Potter, a former senior executive at Bitfinex and Tether, is an advisor to their firm. In addition to Potter, Stablehouse’s consultants include Galaxy Digital partner and founder David Namdar and Blockstream’s director of strategic affairs Samson Mow.
Pitcher said Bermuda authorities may allow residents to pay taxes in any stablecoins pegged to the US dollar in October. This initiative aims at widespread adoption of digital currencies in the islands. The idea came from the government of Bermuda during the coronavirus pandemic, since it will be faster and more convenient to transfer benefits for the population in digital currencies. According to the authorities, in this case, they will be able to transparently track when and in what amount each individual person received financial assistance.
Recall that in October 2019, the government of the island state has already begun accepting payments for taxes, fees and government services in the stable USD Coin (USDC) cryptocurrency. In addition, Bermuda began developing a blockchain-based citizen identification system last fall.
