Bermuda will support USDC as an acceptable tax payment for some 60,000 residents. Support for other “decentralized finance protocols and services” outside of USDC is also part of the works on a broader initiative to integrate cryptocurrencies into official government operations, the press release stated. Bermuda also announced on Wednesday that it would be collaborating with the firm Shyft Network in introducing blockchain to launch a digital identity program benefiting individuals doing business in the country.

USDC is a stablecoin tied to the U.S. dollar launched a year ago by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and Circle. So far, over USD1 billion worth of USDC has been issued between the two start-ups. As a result of the favourable conditions for the crypto industry in the country, Circle recently moved its exchanges to Bermuda in late July. 

Bermuda isn’t the first territory to accept cryptocurrency payments. Last November, Ohio became the first U.S. state to allow taxes to be paid in bitcoin. Other national governments, for example the Marshall Islands and the People’s Republic of China, are working mainly on their own state-regulated cryptocurrencies. “Governments everywhere will need to respond to this fundamental innovation,” Circle said in its statement.