Crypto license in Bahamas

Bahamas

Companies that provide crypto-asset services from or into the Bahamas must complete Digital Asset Business Registration with the Securities Commission of The Bahamas — the Bahamian regulatory equivalent of what is commonly called a VASP or CASP license elsewhere. Importantly,…

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Before applying to the Securities Commission, you need a Bahamian company. Corporate registration is handled by the Registrar General's Department, Bahamas, which administers incorporation of Domestic (Regular) Companies, International Business Companies (IBCs), Non-Profit Companies, Foundations, and related filings.

For digital asset business registration purposes, the recommended default vehicle is the Domestic/Regular Company (Company Limited by Shares) — the Bahamian equivalent of an LLC/Ltd — since it is built for locally licensed/registered activity and requires a registered office in the Bahamas. Other legal forms are also available (see the Basic company reference), including the International Business Company (IBC), Company Limited by Guarantee, Foundation, Exempted/Limited Partnership, General Partnership, Sole Proprietorship, and branch/external company structures, but these are generally used for non-regulated, international, non-profit, or fund-specific purposes rather than for a digital asset business registrant.

All Bahamian company forms require a registered office/agent in the Bahamas. For banking, CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank is an established bank operating in the Bahamas with a confirmed official website.

The Securities Commission of The Bahamas is the sole regulator of digital asset business under the Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Act, 2024 (Act No. 40 of 2024), which took effect on 29 July 2024 and repealed the earlier 2020 version of the Act. Section 7 of the Act prohibits carrying on a digital asset business in or from the Bahamas without registration under section 9, and the regime applies extraterritorially to firms dealing with Bahamian residents.

The regulated perimeter (s.6(1)) covers 16 named activities plus a catch-all category, including fiat/crypto and crypto/crypto exchange, custody, DLT node services, stablecoin issuance, staking, derivatives on digital assets, and advisory/management services (the last three were added in the 2024 Act).

Key requirements confirmed in the Act and fee rules:

• No fixed minimum capital figure is set in the Act itself. Instead, section 15 allows the Commission to prescribe risk-based liquid capital requirements on a case-by-case basis; no numeric threshold has been published.
• Digital asset exchanges must separately hold Bahamas-based assets covering at least 12 months of operating expenses (s.23(1)(a)).
• Stablecoin issuers must fully back reserves and are prohibited from issuing algorithmic stablecoins (s.49(1), s.50).
• Mining as a standalone business is prohibited (s.8) — only ancillary or proprietary mining is permitted, which prospective mining clients should be aware of despite the jurisdiction's crypto-friendly reputation.
• Key officers — CEO, Compliance Officer, and Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) — must each be individually registered with the Commission.
• A 90-day post-commencement transition window under s.87 for existing operators expired around 27 October 2024; there is no remaining grandfathering path for new applicants.

Applicants use a set of official forms: Form 1 Part A (application for registration as a digital asset business), Form 1 Part B (application to carry on additional digital asset business services), Form 1 Part C (registration of a digital token exchange), Form 1 Part D (registration of an initial token offering), Form 2 Part A (personal questionnaire for directors, founders, beneficial owners, officers and significant interest holders), Form 3 Part A (registration of CEO/Compliance Officer), and an Annual Information Update Form. Full text of the governing law is available in the Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Act, 2024, and the Commission's Legislative Framework page lists related Acts and Regulations. The Commission maintains a public quarterly register of registrants, which listed 39 active firms and 1 suspended firm as of 30 June 2026 (the online search tool on the SCB site was not yet functional at that time).

A registrant must have, and register with the Commission, a Chief Executive Officer, a Compliance Officer, and a Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) — each subject to an individual application fee of US$575 and an annual fee of US$800.

Companies that provide crypto-asset services from or into the Bahamas must complete Digital Asset Business Registration with the Securities Commission of The Bahamas — the Bahamian regulatory equivalent of what is commonly called a VASP or CASP license elsewhere. Importantly, the governing statute, the Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Act, 2024 (DARE Act), deliberately uses the language of registration and registrant rather than licence — so while the market refers to this as a 'Bahamas crypto license', the correct local terminology is registration as a digital asset business. This page explains how the registration regime works and how it fits together with setting up a Bahamian company.

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• Securities Commission of The Bahamas