WalletConnect, a global connectivity network for wallets, banks, fintechs, financial institutions and DeFi, has expanded support for the Stellar network and a partnership with Penrose Partners to bring its flagship product, WalletConnect Pay, to Bermuda.

Stellar support lets apps and wallets in the Stellar ecosystem connect to the WalletConnect network, which reaches 900 million end users, thousands of institutions and more than 700 wallets.

Fireblocks, Utila, Lobstr and Arculus are included in the list of wallets and custodians supporting the integration of the launch partners.

WalletConnect Pay now supports payments on Stellar, so customers can pay merchants directly from their Stellar wallets. Lobstr, the Stellar wallet built by Ultra Stellar, is the first wallet live with WalletConnect Pay on Stellar.

Raja Chakravorti, chief business officer of the Stellar Development Foundation, said: “Bermuda’s work to make digital assets part of everyday commerce is exactly the kind of real-world use Stellar was built for.

“WalletConnect Pay brings that experience to the point of sale for users who already hold assets in Stellar wallets.”

As WalletConnect and Penrose Partners work to bring WalletConnect Pay to merchants across the island, they say the initiative is meant to support the Government of Bermuda’s plan to become the world’s first fully onchain economy.

The first merchant is Premier Tickets (Ptix), Bermuda's event ticketing platform, which will let customers pay for tickets with digital assets through WalletConnect Pay as of the second quarter of next year, with more merchants to follow.

Each customer's payment goes directly from their wallet to the event organiser's wallet, and Ptix never holds the funds, the company said. That means one ticketing platform can offer low cost digital asset payments on behalf of many independent organisers with a single integration and funds are received within seconds.

WalletConnect also plans to apply to participate in the Bermuda Monetary Authority’s Innovation Hub, the collaborative regulatory track designed to support InsurTech, RegTech, and SupTech firms, early-stage concepts, and non-licensable technology vendors.

Principals say it invites greater regulatory collaboration on the roll-out across the Island.

Jess Houlgrave, CEO of WalletConnect, commented: “[Completing] payments has proven to be the most impactful use case for crypto, and getting there takes governments willing to lead.

“Bermuda has been forward-thinking in creating the rules and conditions for digital assets to be used in real-world commerce, and it's showing other jurisdictions what's possible. We're proud to bring WalletConnect Pay to Bermuda's merchants, starting with Ptix.”

G. Clay Miller, partner at Penrose Partners, said: “We welcome WalletConnect’s participation in our ‘onchain economy’ initiative. Bermuda has made significant progress in driving the adoption of digital finance over the last two years, and the addition of WalletConnect Pay will help further this initiative by providing local businesses with more flexible payment options.”

Penrose Partners, the advisory firm behind the island’s Digital Finance Forum, will support merchant onboarding and local education.