Tabit funds $40 million insurance facility with bitcoin

(The Insurer) - Tabit Insurance SCC has raised a $40 million insurance facility, funded entirely by bitcoin, which the Bridgetown, Barbados-based company said "provides an innovative source of capital for the insurance industry". According to the company, its regulators and auditors can verify the funding in real time. While the capital is held in bitcoin, all insurance policies and premiums are denominated in U.S. dollars.Tabit is a global (re)insurance company licensed as a Class 2 segregated cell company by the Barbados Financial Services Commission. In addition to its capital deployment strategies in the insurance market, Tabit operates as a segregated cell company, which it said enables the formation of additional cells to capitalize on attractive returns in the industry.The company noted that this structure allows it to offer U.S. dollar returns to other bitcoin holders through their own segregated cells.​​The $40 million in capital is verifiable by proof of reserves, which Tabit said enables constant oversight by Barbados regulators.“By combining traditional balance sheet strength with carefully chosen assets like bitcoin, we’re able to stay responsive to market shifts and better serve the insurance community,” said William Shihara, co-founder of Tabit.​​Stephen Stonberg, co-founder and CEO, added, “We’re eager to move the insurance sector into the future by demonstrating what is possible by allowing an insurer to access a largely new and untapped source of insurance capital: digital assets.”