Bermuda's Bitcoin-Holding Premier Touts a New Digital Dollar Before He Exits

Speaking to Sandmark at the SALT Bermuda Digital Finance Forum, Burt outlined how the Bermuda digital dollar – a collaboration between the UK territory, stablecoin issuer Circle (the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, which maintains a $1 peg to the US dollar), and payments blockchain operator Stellar – will be implemented through private companies rather than the state.

"We've always had the position that we're not going to have a central bank digital currency," Burt said in an interview. "We thought that these things are better to be done for the private sector, let the private sector players compete underneath our regulatory environment."

Digital dollar

The digital dollar is distinct from a central bank digital currency (CBDC) such as the Sand Dollar, the Bahamian digital currency first issued in 2020, or the digital yuan that China has been working on. It was unveiled at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January as the centrepiece of Bermuda's ambition to become the world's first fully onchain national economy. Onchain means transactions and records that exist directly on a public blockchain.

As both head of government and finance minister of the UK territory, Burt has made digital assets the defining project of his tenure. Comfortable at industry events – from SALT, the conference arm of Anthony Scaramucci's SkyBridge Capital, to Consensus, owned by exchange operator Bullish, Chainlink's SmartCon, and the invitation-only Satoshi Roundtable – he has cultivated unusually close relationships across the crypto sector for a sitting head of government.

Taxi app co-founder

The digital roots go back further than politics. Burt described himself to Sandmark as a childhood "nerd" who got hooked on flight simulators as a pilot-in-the-making and taught himself code that would make his computer games run. A finance degree and a master's in information systems followed, along with a stint in the College Democrats during his time at George Washington University. He later co-founded HITCH, Bermuda's answer to Uber, and remains a shareholder, though he stepped back from any active role on becoming Premier in 2017 – the youngest person ever appointed to that office, at 38.

His personal Bitcoin (BTC) holdings date to 2020, when, like many in the crypto world, he bought in during the pandemic-era market turmoil.

"When everything shut down and markets were collapsing and everything was going everywhere, it's like, oh my goodness, what's happening? All right, might as well buy Bitcoin. Everything else is going to collapse."

The timing proved fortuitous. One bitcoin traded between roughly $4,000 and $29,000 in 2020; by October 2025 it had surpassed $126,000. It was trading above $82,000 in the week of the SALT conference.

Source: Sandmark

Around that same period, Burt personally pitched Bermuda's 2018 regulatory framework to Coinbase (COIN), the largest US exchange operator, and to Circle. His approach was straightforward: attend every relevant event, repeat the same message, and lean on Bermuda's established reputation as a serious financial centre built on reinsurance and fund administration, backed by the Digital Asset Business Act, or DABA.

Quality, not quantity

"It's important to recognize that Bermuda has always approached this industry from a quality perspective, not a quantity perspective,” Burt told Sandmark after two days at SALT-related events.

That relentless energy was on display throughout the conference. At the opening dinner, Burt worked every table, catching up with contacts from New York, showing off photos from a recent trip to watch London-based Premier League football team West Ham, and sharing news of his daughter's birthday. An ambassadorial turn.

On public finances, Burt's government is not acquiring Bitcoin for the national treasury, but it is exploring a digital assets reserve built around tokenized versions of traditional holdings. "I'm sure we own money market funds and bonds…There's no reason why we could not own the digital versions of those same things if they provide better financial incentives and work better for us."

A new leader for October

Burt's Progressive Labour Party must elect a new leader in time for October, when he will relinquish his ministerial roles. Despite his extensive network across exchanges, stablecoin issuers and protocol operators, he says he has received no offers from the private sector and intends to remain a member of the Bermudian House of Assembly.

"I'm looking forward to playing a role in the industry, wherever that may be," he added.