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ARTICLE · 20 MARCH 2025

Enhanced Cayman Islands Licensing Framework For Virtual Asset Custody Providers And Trading Platform Operators Takes Effect From 1 April 2025

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The Cayman Islands introduced virtual asset legislation in 2020 to comply with global standards set out by the Financial Action Task Force in the form of the Virtual Asset (Service Providers) Act (the "VASP Act").

Cayman IslandsFinance and Banking
Lucy Frew
Lucy Frew
Andrew Howarth
Andrew Howarth
Ian Mason
Ian Mason
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Key takeaways

  • With effect from 1 April 2025, the licensing regime under the VASP Act will be implemented, requiring those providing virtual asset custody services or operating virtual asset trading platforms to obtain a licence under the VASP Act.
  • Existing VASPs performing licensable activities under the VASP Act must submit their licence applications within 90 days from 1 April 2025.

What do you need to know about the VASP implementation phases?

Background

The Cayman Islands introduced virtual asset legislation in 2020 to comply with global standards set out by the Financial Action Task Force in the form of the Virtual Asset (Service Providers) Act (the "VASP Act"). The VASP Act provides legal certainty and has contributed to the rapid growth of the virtual assets sector in the Cayman Islands, including a number of regulated trading platforms, custodians, broker-dealers, lenders and other service providers as well as tokenised investment

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