Speakers at a major conference in Hamilton next month will make the case for mass adoption of digital finance solutions, just as the Bermuda Government is laying the foundations for an “onchain” economy.

The Bermuda Digital Finance Forum, taking place from May 11 to 14, will bring together leaders in the digital asset industry for a two-day conference at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club.

This will be followed by a community-based digital payments workshop and market on May 14 to give locals hands-on experience of using digital assets. Those who complete the workshop will receive US dollar stablecoins valued at $100 to spend at the ensuing market.

Last year’s Digital Finance Forum offered a similar “air drop” of digital assets that participants loaded into digital wallets and spent at the market.

The event will be organised by Penrose Partners, a digital asset consultancy, and Salt, a global thought leadership forum focused on the future of finance, and a subsidiary of Skybridge Capital.

“Bermuda has been a leader in this industry globally for many years,” said Clay Miller, a partner at Penrose Partners and a speaker at the forum, told The Royal Gazette. “With the Digital Asset Business Act and the Bermuda Monetary Authority creating a world-class regulatory regime, we’re now home to some of the largest digital asset companies anywhere in the world.

“Finally, after years of them coming, domiciling here and servicing international clients and customers, we've been able to turn their attention to the local economy to show how it actually benefits everyday Bermudians.”

So, what is the case for a digital asset financial framework over traditional banking? John Darsie, CEO of Salt and also a speaker at the forum, said the legacy financial system was built on relatively inefficient rails.

“That includes credit-card processing fees, the limited access to banking services in much of the world, and local currencies that experience periods of debasement due to geopolitical risks,” Mr Darsie added

Demand for stablecoins in countries with unstable currencies and limited banking access was notably strong, he said.

As for the benefits people may see from a digital finance ecosystem, Mr Darsie said: “It’s reducing fees on credit cards and remittances and other transactions. It’s increased access to banking and banklike services that digital wallets can provide.

“And there’s a capital efficiency component where, if you have different tokenised assets on a blockchain, there’s a transparent view of your financial situation that doesn’t exist in the current system.”

Mr Miller gave some practical examples.

“Consider a small business here in Bermuda, generating, say, $1 million in annual revenue,” Mr Miller said. “If they're accepting all of those payments via credit cards, they stand to lose anywhere between $50,000 and $100,000. And for small businesses, that’s make-or-break revenue.

“Or, if you’re someone living in Bermuda with family still overseas, we’ve seen that money transfer fees here can reach as high as 40 per cent, depending on the amount you’re sending.

“We want people to be able to hold and keep the money they earn here, and be able to send money to their friends families overseas at zero fees. So what they're earning here is actually making it back home.

“And then again, we want people to be able to have access to some of the world's highest performing financial assets that they otherwise wouldn’t have, so they can invest and grow their wealth.”

One way that digital assets can broaden public access to different types of investment is tokenisation, which converts rights to an asset — physical, financial or digital — into a digital token stored on a blockchain.

Such tokens can represent interchangeable units, like shares or stablecoins, allowing assets to be divided into smaller units, facilitating fractional ownership of assets such as real estate and easier transfer or trading.

The Bermuda Monetary Authority released a consultation paper this month on streamlining regulation for tokenisation.

Mr Darsie argued that for institutions, tokenisation of various assets provided transparency of capital flows and capital efficiency in markets.

“The insurance industry in Bermuda is starting to understand why and how tokenisation can create a more efficient system for their products and services,” Mr Darsie said.

“You're starting to see it in terms of fund structures. Bermuda historically was a centre for fund administration and probably stands to experience a comeback in that area.

“The big challenge now is to educate the retail audience, both in Bermuda and beyond, about why tokenisation and blockchain really matters to them, and why it’s a better system and will provide better access and lower costs.”

The new lead sponsors for this year’s forum are the Stellar Development Foundation and Kraken, joining Circle and Coinbase.

Speakers include Arjun Sethi and David Ripley, co-CEOs of Kraken; Sandy Kaul, executive vice-president and head of innovation at Franklin Templeton; Liz Martin, vice-president of product at Coinbase; Anthony Scaramucci, founder and managing partner of Skybridge Capital; Maxime Seiler, CEO of STS Digital; Joseph Ziolkowski, CEO of Relm Insurance; Freddie Mead, managing director at Howden Re; and David Burt, the Premier.

• For more information about the Digital Finance Forum, visitwww.digitalfinanceforum.com