Bermuda to migrate payments to Stellar blockchain

Bermuda will move key financial services to Stellar, enabling digital wallets for salaries, payments, and fees, aiming to cut costs and modernize its economy.

Bermuda has unveiled a groundbreaking initiative to migrate its core payment and financial services onto the Stellar blockchain, aiming to become the world’s first fully on-chain national economy. This partnership between the Bermuda government and the Stellar Development Foundation will allow residents to use Stellar-based digital wallets for receiving salaries, making merchant payments, paying government fees, and holding digital assets. The government will pilot stablecoin payments, focusing on USDC in collaboration with Circle and Coinbase. Financial institutions will also gain access to tokenization tools, further modernizing Bermuda’s financial infrastructure. The initiative is expected to reduce payment processing costs for merchants, which can reach up to 10% in some sectors, and provide a digital alternative to cash and traditional banking. Building on the 2018 Digital Asset Business Act and following Bermuda’s announcement at the World Economic Forum in January 2026, the rollout will support public-sector payment use cases, including social service distributions. The move aims to deliver more transparent, efficient, and cost-effective financial activities for both businesses and residents.