Barbados-based insurer Tabit has raised $40 million in Bitcoin for its insurance facility, in a move the company said would bolster its balance sheet and allow the insurance sector to capitalize on digital assets.
Tabit’s Bitcoin (BTC) regulatory capital will be used to back traditional insurance policies, which are all denominated in US dollars, the company disclosed in a March 24 announcement.
Tabit claims to be the first property and casualty insurer to hold its entire regulatory reserve in BTC. The company was founded by former executives of Bittrex, a Liechtenstein-based cryptocurrency exchange that was shuttered in 2023.
“This solution offers a regulated dollar return, which we’re excited to earn on an alternative asset class such as Bitcoin,” said William Shihara, Tabit’s co-founder.
Tabit co-founder and CEO Stephen Stonberg said Bitcoin allows the insurance sector to “Access a largely new and untapped source of insurance capital: digital assets.”
“Bitcoin means Tabit has access to a whole new pool of capital,” a company spokesperson told Cointelegraph. “BTC has limited regulated use cases where a hodler can earn a return, but insurance is one of them.”
Tabit launched in January as a Bitcoin-backed insurer, receiving a Class 2 license from Barbados’ Financial Services Commission.
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Blockchain and the insurance sector
So far, most of the discussion around cryptocurrency and insurance has been tied to helping users recover financial losses and using blockchain technology to improve the industry’s transparency. According to a 2023 report by Boston Consulting Group, the blockchain-insurance nexus could become a $37 billion opportunity by 2030.
Behind the scenes, there’s also a growing industry for matching insurance brokers and underwriters with digital asset capital providers.
One such company is Nayms, an onchain insurance marketplace that facilitates the connection between capital providers and brokers via segregated accounts.
Ensuro is another such provider, which curates insurance market opportunities and provides underwriting capacity through the use of stablecoins. According to its website, Ensuro has over 12,000 active policies, with APYs up to 22%.
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