- Coinbase confirmed USDC was used by Bermuda residents to pay local merchants during the Digital Finance Forum in May 2025.
- The initiative included an airdrop to 250 locals and recorded nearly $40K in USDC transactions in a single day.
During the Bermuda Digital Finance Forum held in May 2025, Coinbase finally went further in encouraging real-world crypto adoption. They did not just come with a presentation or promotional poster, but directly brought the USDC stablecoin to be used as a means of payment by the local community.
Local merchants were also invited to get directly involved. Not just talk, the digital money was actually used in the field—like people buying coffee, but paying not with paper dollars, but USDC via a digital wallet.
🇧🇲 Bermuda just went onchain.
At the Bermuda Digital Finance Forum, attendees used @USDC to pay local merchants — fast, secure, and fully digital.
The future of finance is already here. pic.twitter.com/XNF2jmXFra
— Coinbase 🛡️ (@coinbase) May 29, 2025
Weekend Market, No Cash: USDC Powers Real-World Spending
Coinbase collaborated with Penrose Partners, Circle, and of course the Bermuda Government. Even 250 local residents received an airdrop of $100 in USDC through the Coinbase Wallet application. The digital money can be directly spent on local merchant partners who are ready to accept crypto payments.
They just scan the QR code connected to their respective digital wallets, practically without any hassle. And the result? In one day, USDC-based transactions recorded reached almost $40,000. If you imagine, it’s like a weekend market full of traffic, but without any cash at all.
Coinbase Moves Beyond Screens and Into Real Communities
Interestingly, the Bermuda government also really supported this event. They provided more than 150 free tickets for the “Community Day” event, so that more local residents could experience this digital transaction firsthand. Bermuda Premier David Burt even called this a real example of how technology can be directly applied to the community.
It is no wonder that this three-day event attracted more than 500 participants and, according to local reports, brought in around $1 million in turnover to the city of Hamilton. Hotels were full, restaurants were busy, and demand for local transportation increased drastically. It all started with crypto that used to only be seen on screens, now starting to enter the cashier of stalls.
On the other hand, CNF also previously reported that Coinbase continues to expand its reach through new collaborations. One of them is with Webull Pay, which will be officially launched in June 2025. The collaboration includes complete services ranging from buying and selling digital assets, custodians, staking, to USDC rewards—all in one place.
Furthermore, on May 8, 2025, Coinbase announced plans to acquire Deribit, one of the world’s most popular crypto options platforms, in a deal valued at approximately $2.9 billion. The deal consists of $700 million in cash and 11 million Class A shares of Coinbase.
However, the acquisition is still subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions. They expect the deal to close by the end of 2025.
Funnily enough, all of these big moves are starting to show their impact. On May 30, 2025, Coinbase (COIN) stock rose from 74 to 86 on the Relative Strength index. While it is not yet a buy zone, this number indicates some pretty strong momentum.
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