Cayman Islands Announces More Regulation For Crypto Service Providers

The Cayman Islands and its Ministry of Financial Services announced more regulation for virtual asset service providers. The tax haven seems to be cleaning up on the AML and counter-terrorist financing before the FATF review as we can see in today’s crypto news.

The Ministry of Financial Services of the Cayman Islands announced that it has initiated a regulatory framework for virtual asset providers or VASPs. In a press release, the ministry claimed that the move had enhanced the country’s “ability to regulate and attract persons and entities that deal with virtual assets as a business.” The first phase of the implementation which is now under construction focused on compliance with and the enforcement of Anti-Money laundering and countering the financing of Terrorism rules.

The new framework has incorporated the many recommendations by the Financial Action Task Force that were adopted in 2019. These recommendations included the controversial “travel rule” which requires VASPs to collect and share personal data on the beneficiary of the transactions. The existing VASPs and newcomers to the market will have to register with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority in order to show their compliance with the global AML/CFT standards.

Cayman’s AML/CFT regime is now under review by both the FATF and the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force after the recent Mutual Evaluation Report.
buy cymbalta generic cymbalta without prescription online

The new framework will be submitted for consideration before the CFATF-rerating that is due in November. The findings of the FATF review are expected by the end of the first quarter in 2021. The second phase of implementing the framework will include licensing requirements and prudential supervision which is expected to come into force in June 2021. Last month, the Cayman Islands were removed from the EU tax haven blacklist and they appear to be making major efforts to improve their image in the financial circles.

Speaking of regulation, The Bahamas recently joined a small list of countries that are planning to experiment with central bank digital currencies – also known as CBCD. The announcement came from the country’s Deputy Prime Minister who also doubles up as a Minister of Finance, K. Peter Turnquest. During the “Bahamas Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Conference” which was recently held in the Bahamas, he revealed a pilot digital currency that will be introduced by the Central Bank of The Bahamas.