Barbados-Licensed Insurer Launches with Bitcoin-Only Capital Reserves
Tabit Insurance, a Barbados-regulated insurance company, has raised $40 million in bitcoin reserves to back traditional insurance and reinsurance business. The firm was established by former executives from the now-closed cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex and received its class 2 insurance license from the Barbados Financial Services Commission.
The company launched in January 2025 with plans to offer bitcoin-backed liability policies for company directors and officers. Tabit claims to be the first regulated risk carrier to use bitcoin-only reserves for writing traditional policies that are priced in U.S. dollars.
Unlike typical crypto-insurance crossovers that adapt existing risk categories to cover digital asset custody, Tabit is exploring a different approach. The company is creating opportunities for bitcoin holders to capitalize on their assets without trading or taking on major counterparty risk.
Stephen Stonberg, Tabit's co-founder and CEO, explained that bitcoin holders can contribute assets to the firm's system of segregated reserve cells. These reserves are managed using non-custodial technology from Fireblocks, potentially earning yields of around 10%.
The model shares similarities with how accredited investors known as "Names" work with insurance syndicates at Lloyd's of London. They deploy assets into the insurance market to back policies and earn returns.
"For a technology like crypto, you may need a new underwriter, but the way the insurance is done is fundamentally the same as before," said Stonberg in an interview. "We are holding our regulatory capital in bitcoin."
Stonberg added that Tabit is bringing a new capital source to the insurance industry by:
- Using bitcoin as regulatory capital
- Creating yield opportunities for bitcoin holders
- Innovating with balance sheet structure in ways others hadn't considered
The company's approach represents a novel intersection between traditional insurance principles and cryptocurrency assets, potentially opening new avenues for bitcoin utilization in regulated financial services.
This development comes as other projects like Hemi Labs are also finding innovative uses for Bitcoin. Hemi recently launched its $440 million TVL mainnet that bridges Bitcoin and Ethereum networks. Founded by early Bitcoin developer Jeff Garzik, Hemi's dual-blockchain architecture aims to combine Bitcoin's security with Ethereum's programmability, expanding Bitcoin's utility beyond its role as a store of value.
