The information technology company CCS Group Limited has announced a collaboration with Circle, a global digital financial technology firm and the issuer of USDC, to bring the USDC Grant Programme to Bermuda.

The programme provides targeted support and resources for early stage start-ups, visionary developers, entrepreneurs and builders integrating USDC payments into their applications, protocols or research projects.

Applicants must state the projects they are building and explain the exact problem the products aim to solve.

USDC is a fully reserved digital dollar, backed 100 per cent by highly liquid cash and cash-equivalent assets and is redeemable 1:1 for US dollars.

The USDC Grant Programme directly supports projects that increase the utility, adoption capabilities and distribution of USDC.

Grant amounts are tailored to match the specific needs and potential impact of each project. They can range from an initial $5,000 (in USDC) to jump-start early stage development up to the full $100,000 (in USDC) to scale promising applications.

CCS said: “CCS and Circle will explore implementing the USDC Grant Programme in Bermuda, a highly respected and well-regulated financial centre.

“In 2019, Circle received one of the first full Digital Asset Business Act licences issued by the Bermuda Monetary Authority and has since developed key digital financial infrastructure at a global scale.

“As the first local use case, the CCS Application Development Department will help Penrose Partners, a global driver of institutional digital asset adoption and organisers of the International Tech Summit, explore the benefits of USDC for business in Bermuda.

“The USDC stablecoin combines the stability of the US dollar with the efficiency and security of blockchain technology.

“Circle and CCS look forward to educating Bermuda’s innovators on the opportunities associated with leveraging USDC to address real-world challenges.”

CCS provides local and international customers with advanced communications solutions and consulting services.

The company was founded in 1982 and provides those solutions and services in Bermuda and to companies in the Caribbean, North America and Europe.