Bermuda started accepting USDC stablecoin to pay taxes and public services

The Government of Bermuda has announced the start of accepting payments for taxes, fees and other public services in stablecoins USD Coin (USDC).

USDC is a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, launched
a year ago by Circle. As Circle notes in a press release, Bermuda will be the first sovereign state to allow 60,000 of its citizens to pay taxes and government services in USDC.

Moreover, the islands plan to support other “decentralized financial protocols and services” as part of a broader initiative to integrate cryptocurrencies into official government operations.

At the end of 2017, the Bermuda government created a blockchain task force in conjunction with the Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA). Last year the government developed
regulation for the ICO and created a regulatory sandbox for cryptocurrency companies. As a result of a favorable attitude towards the cryptocurrency industry, Circle transferred its Poloniex exchange to Bermuda in late July.

“Governments around the world will need to respond to this fundamental innovation,” Circle says in a press release. “Hats off to Bermuda’s Prime Minister David Burt, who continues to show a progressive outlook on issues related to cryptocurrencies, which is very far ahead of other governments in the world.”

Despite the progressive approach of Bermuda, this is not the first time that governments and regional administrations decide to accept payments in cryptocurrencies. For example, the US state of Ohio was the first in the United States to allow
companies pay taxes with cryptocurrencies. However, the service providing this opportunity has recently been suspended.