Forbes: World’s Most Idyllic Blockchain Sandbox

In a story entitled “Crypto-Caribbean: The World’s Most Idyllic Blockchain Sandbox,” Forbes has profiled the fintech and digital business initiatives in various islands, including Bermuda.

The story said, “The concept of a financial or technology sandbox, popularized over the last decade, is gaining sway around the world, particularly as regulators try to put cryptocurrency, blockchain and technology genies back in the bottle and under observation.

“For some regulators in mature jurisdictions, such the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, FCA, fintech or insuretech sandboxes and the entrepreneurs that populate them are largely coming from positions of strength and, as a result, may promote innovations that “fit the mold” or marginally improve status quo. Lloyd’s, the world’s oldest specialty insurance market, for example, has recently launched Lloyd’s Lab under similar pretense and with great fanfare.

“However, when scanning the world’s self-identified crypto-friendly jurisdictions, the idyllic beaches of the Caribbean basin offer not only the most promising options, they are also among the most prolific when it comes to breakthrough innovation and the occasional epic failures attendant with all great waves of change.

“The storied history of small island states, particularly those in the Caribbean, is one in which people have had no other choice but to innovate to break the “curse” of being water-locked, sun-soaked and “too-small-to-matter” in the global economy.

“This has invariably consigned many Caribbean nations to being single-cylinder economies, with the waning [and often extractive] tide of tourism being one of the principle economic drivers.

“There are, however, emerging examples of the right balance of political leadership and regulatory prudence containing unbridled greed-driven innovation, while not stymying the creative process that can serve as examples to the world.

“For this, look no further than Bermuda and its future-ready leader and Premier of government, David Burt, who was heralded at the recently concluded Blockchain Central co-hosted by Concordia and the Global Blockchain Business Council as an archetype for the world.

“On Bermuda’s idyllic shores and under its newly-passed digital asset legislation, Premier Burt’s administration has embarked not only on defending Bermuda’s long-held leadership in insurance innovation, with more than $100 billion of risk capital formed on the island, he aims to take Bermudians on an inclusive journey of digital transformation.

“Blockchain and becoming a digital state are at the core of this strategy, as much as Bermuda has fiercely rejected any oncomers that would jeopardize the island’s hard-fought reputation as a principled financial hub, on par with the most stringent in the world, such as New York, London or Geneva.

“For this reason, unlike other investment destinations that have more registered businesses than citizens, Bermuda has struck equilibrium and eschews the narrative of being a post office box in the Atlantic or merely a tourist destination.”

You can read the full story here on Forbes.

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