Is crypto legal in Bahamas? Regulation & rules (2026)

Parliament passed the Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Act 2024, replacing the 2020 law. It added custody services, staking, derivatives, and advisory activities to the regulatory perimeter; banned algorithmic stablecoins; introduced a first-of-its-kind staking disclosure regime; and tightened investor-protection obligations on exchanges.

In the wake of the FTX collapse, the Securities Commission released a revised draft DARE Bill proposing stricter proof-of-reserve, stablecoin, and exchange requirements. Stakeholder comments from this consultation directly shaped the final DARE 2024 legislation.

The Securities Commission petitioned the Bahamas Supreme Court for directions on transferring the seized US$3.5 billion in FTX Digital Markets assets to joint provisional liquidators and ultimately to creditors, establishing the legal mechanism for customer recovery.

Prime Minister Philip Davis presented a national digital asset strategy paper to the House of Assembly, setting a vision through 2026 for expanding the DARE framework, attracting regulated crypto business, and building domestic expertise — published months before the FTX collapse undercut the ambition.

The Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Act 2020 came into force, making The Bahamas one of the first jurisdictions globally to enact comprehensive legislation covering digital asset issuance, exchange, and payment services. The SCB was established as primary regulator; all VASPs must hold a physical presence in-country and meet FATF-aligned AML/CFT standards.

The Central Bank of The Bahamas rolled out the Sand Dollar across all islands, making The Bahamas the first country in the world to deploy a fully operational central bank digital currency. The Sand Dollar is legal tender pegged 1:1 to the Bahamian dollar, designed to expand financial inclusion across the remote archipelago.

The Central Bank began a live Sand Dollar pilot on Exuma to test CBDC infrastructure for a geographically dispersed population; the pilot was expanded to Abaco in February 2020, before the national rollout. This put The Bahamas at the global frontier of CBDC deployment.

Following an initial SCB review of digital tokens in March 2018, a multi-agency Crypto Asset Working Group was established in May 2018 to develop a coherent national regulatory approach. This body produced the foundational analysis that led directly to the DARE Bill and Act.