The News: Bermuda approves Jewel’s bank license for crypto, and becomes the first non-U.S. digital asset bank to issue stablecoins and serve companies with real-time payments tied directly to bank deposits. Read Jewel Bank’s Press Release here.
Bermuda Approves Jewel’s Bank License for Crypto
Analyst Take: It’s a big day for Jewel Bank, Bermuda, and the financial industry at large. Jewel is officially a bank!
Announced June 7th, the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) approved Jewel for a combined full bank license and digital asset business license. This is two major firsts – the first new Bermudian bank in over twenty years and the first digital asset bank for the island.
I expect the combination of Jewel’s business model and the uniqueness of Bermuda to instantly launch Jewel into contention as a major player in crypto.
Jewel Combines the Stability of USD With the Regulatory Rigor of Bermuda
Jewel combines the stability of the U.S. Dollar with the regulatory rigor of Bermuda. Jewel intends to both offer its own USD stablecoin and power customer stablecoins as-a-Service. It’s an offering that few other players anywhere in the world can compete with.
Jewel itself is a licensed bank. The Bermudian Dollar is pegged one-to-one with the U.S. Dollar, which allows Jewel to tokenize deposits. Not only will customers be able to transact with the Jewel stablecoins in the broader crypto ecosystem, they’ll also be able to instantly settle trades in real-time 24/7/365. It’s a massive leap forward in counterparty risk reduction that also unlocks significant trapped capital. And that’s just the bank’s first product.
Bermuda itself has pulled off a remarkable feat – it has established the island as crypto-friendly without compromising regulatory integrity. I see this as a testament to a multidecade effort by the BMA to vault Bermuda into the upper echelons of financial jurisdictions.
The success has been near unprecedented:
- Third largest jurisdiction for reinsurance
- Second largest captive insurance domicile
- First in the world in overall compliance with technical standards for anti-money laundering
- Seventh in the world in compliance effectiveness for anti-money laundering
When you combine the two – Jewel’s crypto acumen and Bermuda’s high compliance standards – you find an institution well equipped to compete on a global scale. It’s a foundation only further enhanced by a world-class team including CEO Nick Lepetsos, a 20-year bank President veteran; CFO Ninh Chung, a 20-year senior bank executive; Co-Founder Michael Dowling, CTO at Mode Eleven Bancorp; and Chairman Chancellor Barnett, founder of Crowdfunder.com, CoinCircle, and many other high profile tech startups.
Ever since Bermuda passed the Digital Asset Business Act of 2018, I’ve been waiting for a bank like Jewel to come onto the scene. It took longer than I had hoped, but I’m thrilled to see it finally happen.
I can’t wait to see what Jewel does.
Disclosure: Futurum Research is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of Futurum Research as a whole.
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Image Credit: CoinDesk
Author Information
Jared is an Analyst in Residence at Futurum Research, where he helps guide our practice in all things Web3, the Metaverse, and cryptocurrencies so as to help business leaders understand how they work, why they matter, and how they can not only get involved, but become market leaders along the way.
Jared previously co-founded and served as President and Board Member of Triple Point Liquidity, a blockchain-based fintech startup serving alternative asset managers, their investors, and fund administrators. Prior to Triple Point, he held multiple roles at IBM including leading Digital Assets at IBM Blockchain, leading corporate development for Industry Platforms, and founding Watson Risk & Compliance.
Jared is author and podcast co-host at Fat Tailed Thoughts and serves as a trustee for The Williams School.
Jared holds an AB from Dartmouth College.
