David Burt, the Premier and Finance Minister, has reported he faced “intense political pressure” before FTX’s collapse, because it was incorporated in Bahamas, and not a Bermuda company.

Mr Burt was interviewed by a Bloomberg journalist while on an official visit to Washington last week.

He said Bermuda still welcomed crypto business, despite the recent trouble.

The trouble included company collapses in recent months, including the dramatic fall of FTX, now central to a major corporate crime case, and the precursor to a plethora of new enforcement efforts by US agencies amid widespread calls for a crackdown.

In discussing the benefits inherent in digital assets and blockchain technology, the Premier told Bloomberg News in an interview: “The future of finance is digital.”

He said the events in the crypto market over the past several months have had a minimal impact on Bermuda, showing that the rules it has in place are working.

The article continued: “He recalled facing intense political pressure domestically before FTX’s collapse because the company chose the Bahamas instead of Bermuda as its headquarters.”

But he told the reporter that Bermuda regulations are clear and will not change for any one company.

“I think that approach has been vindicated,” Burt said. But he added risks must be managed.

To do that, he said, regulators around the world must work together to reach a common understanding and provide clarity rather than focus on enforcement.

The Premier met board members of the Global Blockchain Business Council to talk about further opportunities in the sector.

He also engaged with a range of congressional leaders during the visit, including the new Georgia senator, Raphael Warnock, with talks held on the importance of the island’s reinsurance industry to the US.

Mr Burt met Republican Congressman Warren Davidson, chairman of the Financial Services sub-committee on Housing and Insurance sub-committee and vice-chairman of the Digital Assets sub-committee, and Democratic Congressman Bill Foster, the co-chairman of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus and ranking member of the Financial Services sub-committee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy.

The Premier told local media: “During meetings with representatives Foster and Davidson, who hold leadership positions on subcommittees regarding digital assets, we discussed Bermuda’s innovative and comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets.”