Country Update - British Virgin Islands: Crypto-Asset Regulation

Few areas of finance are developing faster than crypto-assets, a category that includes cryptocurrencies, securities tokens and utility tokens, whose common feature is use of distributed ledger technology (DLT). Today there are more than 16,000 individual cryptocurrencies in circulation and daily trading volumes are estimated to be more than $275 billion on more than 400 platforms.

Their rise has led to calls for better regulation due to potential investor protection, money laundering and market integrity risks.

Crypto-asset regulation in the British Virgin Islands

1. Which body regulates crypto-assets and related services?

The body in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) that regulates crypto-assets and related services is the Financial Services Commission (FSC). As the principal regulator of the financial services industry in the BVI, the FSC's functions include responsibility for the regulation, supervision and monitoring of regulated entities, the