Bahamas -- Regulatory Status Regulatory Overview

The Bahamas has a comprehensive regulatory approach to cryptocurrencies and virtual assets, requiring licensing for digital asset businesses (DABs) and digital asset service providers (DASPs). The primary regulatory body is the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB), which oversees registration, licensing, and compliance, collaborating with the Central Bank of The Bahamas (for supervised financial institutions and CBDCs) and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).[1][3][4][5][6]

Key legislation includes:

• Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Act, 2024 (DARE Act): Enacted in 2024, it regulates token issuance, exchanges, custodians, stablecoins (with reserve backing and audits under Section 49), NFTs, staking, DeFi platforms (Sections 5, 15, 33), and requires AML/CFT compliance (Sections 18-21, 33-35).[2][3][4][5]
• Supporting laws: Proceeds of Crime Act 2018, Anti-Terrorism Act 2018, Financial Transactions Reporting Act 2018 (FTRA), Securities Industry Act 2024, and Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges (AML/CFT) Rules 2022.[3][4][5]
• Earlier developments: Draft DARE Bill 2019 and Central Bank Discussion Paper (November 2018).[1][6]

Crypto trading and exchanges are permitted under SCB licensing, covering fiat-to-crypto, crypto-to-crypto, centralized/decentralized exchanges, ICOs, custodial services, broker-dealer activities, portfolio management, staking, and payments in digital assets. Businesses must segregate customer assets, implement AML/KYC (per Comprehensive Review Update Policy and ATA/FTRA), report suspicious activities, maintain capital/solvency, and gain SCB approval for operations (prohibited without under Section 9).[1][2][3][4][5]

Official sources: DARE Act and SCB guidelines at https://www.scb.gov.bs (e.g., regulatory framework PDF).[6] For full legislation, refer to SCB site or Bahamas Gazette (not directly linked in results). Regulations emphasize investor protection post-FTX, with penalties for non-compliance.[2][4]