Bermuda Expands Onchain Economy Initiative With USDC Airdrop

Bermuda is expanding its onchain economy initiative by distributing USDC stablecoins to residents and onboarding local merchants to accept digital payments. Premier David Burt said the goal is to bring stablecoins into everyday commerce and build payment infrastructure outside traditional card networks and banking rails.

The premier said small businesses face high transaction fees and limited access to financial apps common in larger markets. The project was first announced in January at the World Economic Forum with stablecoin issuer Circle and exchange Coinbase. The government plans another airdrop of USDC this year tied to the Bermuda Digital Finance Forum 2026 next week while also onboarding merchants that can accept digital payments.

Participants will receive stablecoins through wallets and can spend them with local vendors, Burt said. "If you are a vendor and you’re accepting digital assets, but you do not have a way to use and spend those digital assets inside your economy, that presents a problem," Burt said.

Bermuda has spent years building a digital asset framework through its Digital Asset Business Act. Burt described the island’s regulatory style as iterative and industry-facing, with the Bermuda Monetary Authority working directly with firms on issues such as staking, lending and DeFi supervision.

"You cannot regulate out failure," Burt said. " Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal, who joined Burt on stage at Consensus Miami 2026, said Bermuda’s approach stands out because regulators and private firms are building in tandem instead of working separately.

"What’s most interesting about the Bermuda example is it is a parallel process," Grewal said.