The Premier highlighted Bermuda’s effort to develop into a fintech hub in an interview with Bloomberg at the weekend.

David Burt said attracting international businesses was a key component of Bermuda’s economic recovery programme in the wake of the impact of Covid-19 in an interview with the channel’s Vonnie Quinn and Paul Sweeney.

Mr Burt added: “We are continuing to build on our digital asset industry in Bermuda which is seeing growth – we are attracting big names to our shores.

“We see what is happening right now in the markets, the attention that is being paid to decentralised finance and Bermuda is very fortunate that we have been preparing ourselves regulation-wise for a number of years and now it is coming to the fore.

“We are well positioned to take advantage of the attention that is now being paid to the decentralised finance boom.”

Mr Burt told the two anchors on Friday that Bermuda was known for its high regulatory standards and the Government recognised there was an opportunity to offer companies a place geared to innovation.

He added: “Our calling card is actually our regulations. Our calling card is to be able to work with a regulator that you can have conversations and speak to.

“Our regulator is very tough, however there is the opportunity to innovate here in Bermuda.

“People always point to the tax argument, but for a large number of our insurers here in Bermuda, they elect to be US tax payers.”

Mr Burt agreed that the pandemic had hit the island’s tourism industry, but said that moves like the “work from Bermuda” scheme for digital nomads and other businesspeople had laid the groundwork for the industry to bounce back.

He said: “It is an exceedingly difficult period, there is no doubt about it, but this is our traditional low season in tourism so we are taking this time to recalibrate.

’We have events that are scheduled. We have an international sailing regatta that is taking place in Bermuda in March, Sail GP, and we are having off-sites from companies that want to travel and have their employees in a safe environment.

“Our tourism industry is focusing more on niche markets – the long term tourism of people who are working from Bermuda. That is how we are managing to recover.”

Mr Burt added that there were discussions with cruise ship operators about the use of the island as a departure point for ships.

He said: “If the Biden administration extends the no-sail policy, there are some cruise lines that are looking to launch their cruises from here in Bermuda, which is very close to the US, of course, and the New York market, so people could cruise from here.”

Mr Burt also discussed the success of the island’s Covid-19 test regime.

He said: “I think we are in a good place. Bermuda is the fourth most tested country on the planet. We test, test and test again.”