There is a new bank in town for the first time in more than two decades!

Jewel Bank has received its full bank and digital asset business licences from the Bermuda Monetary Authority, opening the door for it to service the digital-asset industry and will eventually offer retail services for residents of Bermuda.

Jewel Bank will help Bermuda’s digital asset industry by providing core banking, digital-asset custody, traditional fiat, and crypto-collateralised lending. Additional offerings include fiat on/off ramps, stablecoin issuance/redemptions, real-time settlement, and bridging the gap for those who wish to invest in crypto assets.

While these terms may not mean a lot to members of the public now, I can assure you that being able to provide these services on island indicates a massive step forward for our digital-assets industry.

Critics have doubted our vision of Bermuda becoming a global leader in fintech and the digital economy. Still, as seen by the announcement this week of the launch of our island's first digital asset bank, the Progressive Labour Party government is delivering on its promise to expand the economy by creating new industries.

Jewel Bank will soon begin to provide retail banking services for Bermudians and bring 40 new jobs into our economy. This will help to accelerate our development in fintech and support the Government's vision for digital transformation, economic growth and more job opportunities for Bermudians.

The licensing of a digital bank is significant for digital assets, as our growth has been hindered owing to the lack of banking services in Bermuda to support our local digital-asset companies. Now that the BMA has granted approval, Bermuda's long-term digital transformation has launched and can only advance in the months and years ahead.

This growth will not only be in terms of the services available to the digital-asset industry and locals, but to the development of this industry in Bermuda, which will be recognised globally.

Beyond the big news of this significant step forward in this space is that Jewel Bank will be issuing stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency that has all of the security and transaction speed of other models, but does not have the volatility and instability of other cryptocurrencies. This stems from being tied to a fiat currency such as the US dollar or a commodity such as oil or gold.

One of the ways this could benefit Bermudian businesses is by providing a cheaper alternative to taking credit cards.

We have taken a lot of criticism for trying to build this new industry, but we are making steady progress in this arena, and we are becoming recognised as a global leader in this space.

Since the Premier, David Burt, laid out his bold and progressive vision for Bermuda entering and becoming an attractive place to do business, Jewel Bank is the fifteenth company to be licensed and registered with the BMA. In the past year alone, the number of companies registered with the BMA has grown by 50 per cent and more are on the way as we continue to grow while ensuring we protect our reputation through sound regulation.

Bermuda is rapidly becoming known worldwide as the place for high-quality companies to do business. The future continues to look bright for our digital-assets industry and our people!

• Jaché Adams is the government MP for Pembroke West (Constituency 19)