The small island territory Bermuda has been keen on expanding its crypto ecosystem for 5 years now.
On June 3, amid the current crypto market turmoil, the Bermuda government suggested that it would continue with its plans to establish a crypto hub. The official statement depicts that the government doesn’t consider the recent crash to be a massive concern to “the island’s ability to become a crypto hub.”
“We are aware of the recent devaluation in the price of cryptocurrencies and remain confident that it does not threaten the island’s ability to become a crypto hub.”
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As stated by Bermuda's minister of economy and labor Jason Hayward, Bermuda, an independent British overseas territory located in the western North Atlantic Ocean, has been long keen on expanding its crypto ecosystem. He believes that the current industry slump is likely to progress the island’s aim and will have a significantly strong influence on its long-term growth and leadership in this field.
David Schwartz, president of the Financial and International Business Association, mentioned that the Bermuda government is also on a determined path to improve its anti-money laundering regulations. In addition, he suggested that the future of Bermuda’s crypto sector depends on how the regulators plan to monitor and govern crypto-related businesses.
“They’ve got great rules and regulations and laws, but it’s all about the implementation at the end of the day.”
In fact, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental organization established with the purpose to combat money laundering, recently stated that Bermuda has significantly improved its anti-money-laundering technical compliance framework, as well as implemented and revised a number of essential legislation.
Crag Swan, chief executive of the Bermuda Monetary Authority, added that the BMA has provided licenses for 14 digital-asset firms, including crypto exchange dubbed Bittrex Global, crypto trading platform BlockFi, and crypto issuer Circle Internet Financial Ltd. With such licenses, the crypto companies will be able to fully function outside the British island territory.
On top of that, Bermuda’s licensing process is divided into three different stages: the testing license, a modified license, and a full license. In order to provide an opportunity for the crypto company to test everything out, Hayward adds that the testing phase usually lasts between 3 to 12 months. However, BMA didn’t share a specific amount of time that is needed to get a full license.
According to Swan, prudential supervision that assesses risk management, cybersecurity, and governance, as well as compliance with anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism funding legislation, such as sanctions screening and transaction monitoring, are all part of the licensing requirements in Bermuda.
Swan also underlined that the BMA will only allow the establishment of shops for those companies that focus on quality over quantity as part of their crypto hub goals. "So obviously the persons that we want in Bermuda must be fit and proper because essentially we’re looking at maintaining the jurisdiction’s quality name,” he added.
Earlier this year, the Central African Republic announced that it would launch an official cryptocurrency hub dubbed “Sango.” The President of CAR Faustin-Archange Touadéra implied that the current traditional economy was no longer a viable solution.
