The Stellar Development Foundation and the Government of Bermuda have announced that the island nation will begin moving key payment and financial services onto the Stellar network. This marks the first real step toward Bermuda’s goal, first stated at the World Economic Forum in January 2026, of becoming the world’s first fully on-chain national economy.
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According to Stellar’s official press release, this partnership is not a pilot study or a working group. It is the start of a live rollout. Bermudian residents will be able to receive wages, pay local merchants, settle government fees, and hold, send, and receive digital assets through digital wallets on the Stellar network. Government agencies plan to test stablecoin-based payments. Financial institutions will be able to use tokenization tools. The announcement also mentions that social service payments are being explored as a possible use case.
Stable infrastructure that scales. That’s what the government of Bermuda is accessing by partnering with SDF. At @SALTConference, @rajachak75 spoke with @BermudaPremier about how the Stellar network’s growth can power this exciting next step for Bermuda. pic.twitter.com/graFK5B1sP — Stellar (@StellarOrg) May 12, 2026
The Problem Bermuda Is Solving
The economic reasons behind this move are clear. According to the press release, local merchants on the island currently pay between 3% and 5% per transaction in card processing fees, with effective costs sometimes reaching as high as 10% in certain categories. Without mobile money infrastructure and with continued reliance on older payment systems, Bermudians are absorbing costs that, as the SDF puts it, represent value leaving the island instead of staying within it.
The Hon. E. David Burt, Premier of Bermuda, addressed this directly in the announcement. He noted that digital dollars and Stellar’s infrastructure make it possible to deliver this kind of systemic change responsibly and at the scale Bermuda needs.
Why Stellar
Stellar was chosen for good reason. The network was built specifically for regulated financial services—it is public and permissionless by design, but can be set up with the asset controls that governments and institutions require, according to the press release. Transactions settle in seconds and cost fractions of a US cent. The network also operates one of the world’s largest systems for moving digital assets into and out of cash, which is important for an island economy that depends on easy access to liquidity.
Bermuda’s regulatory environment also supports this choice. The island established the Digital Asset Business Act in 2018—one of the world’s first comprehensive digital asset regulatory frameworks—giving the SDF a jurisdiction with existing legal infrastructure rather than a blank slate. Denelle Dixon, CEO and Executive Director of the Stellar Development Foundation, noted in the release that Bermuda has put together what most places lack: clear regulations, a well-aligned ecosystem, and a government willing to lead.
XLM’s price moving sideways following a steep decline in late 2025, as seen on the daily chart. Source: XLMUSD on Tradingview
This is not Stellar’s first government deployment. According to the press release, the Republic of the Marshall Islands completed the world’s first nationwide on-chain distribution of universal basic income via USDM1 on the Stellar network in December 2025—a precedent that Bermuda’s program now builds on.
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This development marks a key moment for the relationship between the emerging sector and government financial systems. A national government committing to move its payment economy on-chain is no longer just a theoretical use case for blockchain technology—it is now operational.One, and Stellar has just become the network behind the world’s first attempt to prove it works on a national scale. Cover image from ChatGPT, XLMUSD chart on TradingView.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about the news that a country is moving onto the Stellar blockchain written in a natural conversational tone
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 Wait a whole country is moving onto a blockchain What does that actually mean
It means the countrys central bank is using a private version of the Stellar network to issue and manage its digital currency Instead of just printing paper money or minting coins the countrys money will exist as digital tokens on a secure shared ledger
2 So is this a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin
Not exactly This is a Central Bank Digital Currency Unlike Bitcoin which is decentralized and volatile this digital currency will be controlled by the countrys central bank Its designed to be a stable digital version of the countrys regular cash
3 Who is Stellar And why is it a rival to Ripple
Stellar is a blockchain network designed for fast lowcost payments and currency exchange Its a rival to Ripple because both networks focus on moving money across borders but Stellar is more focused on helping individuals and smaller financial systems while Ripple targets big banks
4 Why would a country choose Stellar instead of just using regular banks
Regular banking systems can be slow expensive and hard to access for everyone Using Stellars blockchain can make transactions instant nearly free and available to anyone with a smartphone Its a way to modernize the entire financial system in one go
Intermediate Advanced Questions
5 What specific benefits does Stellar offer that convinced the country to pick it over Ripple
Stellars key advantage is its builtin decentralized exchange and its anchor model This makes it easier for local businesses to convert the digital currency into realworld cash Stellar also tends to have lower transaction fees and a stronger focus on financial inclusion for unbanked populations which is often a priority for developing nations
6 Is the country moving its entire economy onto the blockchain or just one part
Typically its just one part The country is likely digitizing its national currency and its interbank settlement system Physical cash will still exist but the government is creating a digital twin that can be used for modern payments