Finance Minister Peter Turnquest yesterday announced in the House of Assembly that The Securities Commission of The Bahamas completed the cryptocurrency draft legislation for public consultation.
This, he said, gives The Bahamas “a clear, competitive advantage with respect to digital asset solutions as financial technologies continue to drive growth in the financial services sector”.
He added that the Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges (DARE) Bill provides solutions for digital asset application and creates a proper regulatory framework for the country’s crypto market.
He said, “disruptions caused by the digitization of the economy are leading to a new way of regulatory reforms, as countries around the world innovate to safeguard against the erosion of their tax base.”
He added, “these developments will undoubtedly affect us here in The Bahamas. With the proposed DARE legislation, we’re looking to the future, anticipating and preparing for the changes on the horizon forming coalitions to influence the nature of change.”
Mr. Turnquest also said that the government has been deliberate over the past year in creating a regulatory environment that safeguards the country’s economic interests and boosts its global competitiveness.
He said, “these efforts will help to grow our reputation as an innovative and responsive financial center. The Bahamas is a budding, crypto eco system, including crypto startups, exchanges and traditional financial institutions servicing crypto companies.”
He added, “requests continue to come to the government for related business like crypto custodians and companies conducting initial token offerings and security token offerings that want to base their businesses in The Bahamas.”
“New legislative initiatives will facilitate the growth of opportunities and drive innovation and diversification through the industry.”, he said.
The minister explained that the DARE Bill provides for the regulation of the issuing and sale of digital tokens, the conduct of those responsible for issuing them, and those providing immediate services related to the issuance of these tokens.
He said, “It [the DARE Bill] also provides clarity, with respect to stable coin. Specifically, the proposed bill provides a legislative structure by which persons, who wish to participate in the digital token space, are guided on the requirement for entry and participation in the industry.”
“These requirements indicate who may participate, the level of capital required, the rules for reporting and seeking the commission’s approval and the penalties for failure to comply.”, he said.
Additionally, the rules stipulate that participants must adhere to establishing Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting Financial Terrorism (AML/CFT) laws, they must state data protection measures related to client’s personal information, and prevent data breaches.
The draft bill is available on the securities commissions’ website and feedback may be sent to siaconsultation@scb.gov.bs.
