Press release

Bermuda Spotlights Fintech Innovation at Consensus 2019

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Bermuda highlighted its world-respected regulatory and legal framework
for fintech business, as a delegation of government and industry experts
returned for a second year to “Blockchain Week” in New York for
Consensus 2019.

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Bermuda Premier David Burt describes the island's fintech innovations in an interview with Paul Swee ...

Bermuda Premier David Burt describes the island’s fintech innovations in an interview with Paul Sweeney and Lisa Abramowicz of Bloomberg Radio during Blockchain Week in New York (Photo: Business Wire)

Premier David Burt, accompanied by Finance Minister Curtis Dickinson and
Bermuda Business Development Agency CEO Andy Burrows, led a group of
regulatory and industry representatives to the annual three-day midtown
conference which attracted 4,500 attendees, including major sponsoring
companies such as IBM, Deloitte, Microsoft, Citi, RBC and eBay. Along
with a business development team from the BDA were Assistant Financial
Secretary Stephen Gift, Chief Fintech Advisor to the Premier Denis
Pitcher, and fintech experts from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA),
Deloitte Bermuda, PwC Bermuda, and global law firms Appleby, Conyers,
and Walkers.

“Events like this are important because they bring a lot of the major
players from well-established companies that are going to be the largest
companies of the future,” said the Premier. “It’s a long-term investment
and it takes time to build relationships, but this has given us the
opportunity to talk about the innovative work Bermuda has been doing and
to raise our jurisdiction’s profile in this space. We’ve had meaningful
discussions with companies that want to set up in Bermuda, with those
already in the process of setting up, and with some who are investing in
companies that want to set up in Bermuda.”

Bermuda’s fintech environment has evolved substantially since the island
sent a delegation to Consensus just one year ago, the Premier noted,
with key initial coin offering (ICO) and digital assets business
legislation now in place, along with a dedicated fintech unit,
regulatory sandbox, and Innovation Hub at the BMA. “That certainty is
now paying dividends,” he said, “and we are attracting interest from
excellent prospects. It bodes well for the future.”

Bermuda’s robust regulation won the spotlight Monday during a Consensus
panel that featured the BMA’s Senior Advisor for Fintech, Moad Fahmi,
along with peers from Japan and Australia. “It was a great opportunity
to discuss regulation of digital assets with fellow regulators and
industry bodies,” said Fahmi. “The digital asset industry is evolving
rapidly and moving towards institutionalization—our robust digital asset
framework is fit for purpose to welcome entities looking to meet the
Bermuda Standard.”

Minister Dickinson and Burrows also held a series of meetings outside
the conference with institutional investors, family offices, funds and
private equity managers, fintech incubators, influencers and investors
in technology and digital assets businesses. “We took the opportunity
while in New York to meet with leading companies in the wealth
management industry to discuss opportunities for their businesses in
Bermuda,” Dickinson said. “The discussions were fruitful and provided
the Bermuda team with valuable insights that can be used as we continue
to improve our service offering in our evolving wealth management
pillar.”

“There were many synergies, and underpinning everything is technology,
with digital assets now viewed as an asset class driving every industry
sector,” said Burrows. “Notably, many of our meetings this week were
direct offshoots of our BDA industry forum in New York back in March, so
the follow-up is underway and the conversations have begun.”

The Premier met with numerous media, including Reuters, Bloomberg
Radio
, and Yahoo Finance. He also took part in a video interview
with futurist and author David Shrier, an associate professor at Oxford
University’s Saïd Business School, who leads Oxford’s fintech and
blockchain strategy programmes.

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