Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA): BDA partners with government to attract cryptocurrency

HAMILTON, Bermuda, 2017-11-23 06:16 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
The Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA) will take a lead role in an
initiative launched by the Bermuda government today to accelerate the
establishment and growth of digital currency business on the island. 

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/457f43b9-d7bb-48f1-83e2-b856b
33ebacc 

At a press conference held by Premier the Hon David Burt and National Security
Minister the Hon Wayne Caines, the government announced the formation of a task
force comprising two teams to advance Bermuda's regulatory environment as a
destination for utility tokens, tokenised securities, cryptocurrencies, and
coin offerings. 

BDA Consultant for Emerging Technologies John Narraway was named as chair of
the Blockchain Business Development Working Group, while BDA Board member Lydia
Dickens will chair the Blockchain Legal and Regulatory Working Group, of which
the BDA's Head of Business Development Sean Moran will also be a member.
Minister for National Security Minister Wayne Caines will lead the effort. 

"We are pleased to partner with the government and drive business development
efforts of this strategy," said BDA CEO Ross Webber. "It's all part of our
agency's push for economic diversification, to bring new business to the
island, help boost GDP and create jobs, and ensure existing industry service
providers are able to benefit, grow and expand. It's about innovating based on
the strengths of the Bermuda market." 

Today's announcement follows recent visits by the BDA to Silicon Valley to
encourage start-up incubators to the island and the incorporation of two
digital currency entities-e-sports company Unikrn Bermuda-and iCash, an online
entertainment enterprise-in the past few months. As well, Bermuda saw the
successful residency of Hub Culture's digital currency-powered innovation
campus at the Ariel Sands property this summer. Another company, Vaphr, founded
by Aron Dutta, the former global head of blockchain at IBM and managing
director at Cisco Systems, is also in the process of incorporating its global
platform on the island. 

"There are significant opportunities in the sphere of cryptocurrency, but that
window is getting smaller and moving faster than ever before," said Narraway,
who has been examining emerging technologies for the BDA, including crypto
assets, artificial intelligence, and biotech. "We are looking at all these
areas and zeroing in on the key ones to move on." 

Premier Burt said a regulatory framework for distributed ledger technologies
(DLT) would become operational in early 2018. The framework would regulate the
activities of firms operating in or from Bermuda that use DLT to store or
transmit value belonging to others, such as virtual currency exchanges, coins
and securitized tokens. 

Coins or cryptocurrencies are digital currencies like bitcoin in which
encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency
and verify the transfer of funds. They operate independently of a central bank.
Tokenised securities represent shares of a business, while utility tokens are
services or units of such that can be purchased, providing a way to fund
projects of shared infrastructure. 

"Bermuda is committed to building upon its position as an innovative
international business centre," said Premier Burt, "and is considering a
complementary regulatory framework covering the promotion and sale of utility
tokens, aligned with the DLT framework." 

The government said Bermuda-based token issuers would need to join and comply
with the code of conduct of the new Bermuda Crypto Association, including
measures to ensure enhanced business transparency, KYC and AML. 

The BDA has established a webpage providing information for those interested in
establishing a cryptocurrency business in Bermuda: http://bda.bm/crypto/ 

MEDIA CONTACT:

Rosemary Jones
Head of Communications & Marketing
[e-mail]
441 278-6558
441 337-4696

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