Jamaica tables legislation to regulate cryptocurrency and other digital asset providers

The House of Representatives on Tuesday commenced the debate on the Virtual Assets Service Providers Act, which seeks to establish a formal licensing and supervisory framework for virtual asset businesses to ensure compliance with international anti-money laundering standards.

A virtual asset service provider is any business that handles cryptocurrency or other digital assets for or on behalf of other people as a commercial service.

Piloting the legislation, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Fayval Williams, explained that a person or company counts as a virtual asset service provider if, as a business, it exchanges crypto for regular money, such as selling Bitcoin for dollars; transfers crypto from one person's wallet or account to another; and holds or looks after crypto for others, including holding the keys that control it.