Country Update - Cayman 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 Cayman Islands

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

The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) is responsible for the regulation of crypto-assets, which broadly equate to "virtual assets" under Cayman Islands law. There is a licensing regime and a registration regime, for any person offering a "virtual asset service" in the course of business using a Cayman islands entity or otherwise from