Caribbean/BM/Comparables
Bermuda
Bermuda Monetary Authority
The oldest purpose-built digital-asset licensing statute still being iterated. DABA licences the business (issuance, exchange, custody, payments, derivatives, lending). DAIA licences a public digital-asset issuance. The April 2026 tokenisation consultation is substance-over-form inside existing Acts, not a new book. Closest offshore cousin of a VARA issuance licence — still not Rule 200.
DABA
2018 : 28
DAIA
2020
Classes
T / M / F
Similar regulation
The statute book
Primary instruments, with the RCA job each one actually does. Links open the official text.
- In force
Activity licence — issuance, exchange, custody, payments
- In force
The Handbook overlay — including single-currency pegged stablecoins
- Consultation
Substance-over-form for tokenised funds/equity/insurance — not a CIC
Translation
Rule 100–500 map
| RCA | Peer | Fit | Desk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rule 100 CIC | Digital asset under DABA (payment, utility, security in one taxonomy) | Partial | Bermuda uses one definition and then licences the activity. No Howey wrapping. |
| Rule 103 disclosure | DAIA issuance disclosure + DAB client-disclosure rules | Analogue | Prescribed disclosure to the Authority and to clients. Closer to MiCA Title II than to a 103 website. |
| Rule 200 $5M | Class T test licence (time-boxed PoC), not a dollar cap | No analogue | T is a sandbox class. It is not a $5 million offering exemption. |
| Rule 300 fundraising | Digital Asset Issuance Act 2020 licence | Partial | You are licensed to issue to the public from Bermuda, not exempted from a Securities Act. |
| Rule 400 safe harbor | None | No analogue | A DAB licence does not expire the investment contract. |
| Rule 500 preemption | Bermuda-only | No analogue | No passport into the US, the Union, or the UK. |
Analysis
What the file is
Bermuda built a single regulator (the BMA) and two statutes: DABA for the operating business, DAIA for the public issuance. Class T is a test licence (the 24X Bitcoin trade of 1 September 2026 ran on a T licence that must say, on the website, that it is a pilot). Class M is modified/limited. Class F is full. More than fifty firms are licensed or in sandbox. That is an activity-licence census, not an endorsement of any token.
Research
The record
- The DAB Custody of Client Assets Rules 2025 and the Operational Cyber Risk Management Code are the custody chapter RCA does not write.
- Single-currency pegged stablecoin guidance (December 2024) is the Bermuda analogue to MAS SCS / Cap. 656 — not to Rule 200.
- The public register of DAB licences, with class and permitted activities, is the evidence. A founding-jurisdiction press release is not.
Ideation
What to file
- If the stack is a Bermuda F-licence issuer plus a US CIC wrapper, RFC 82 (U.S. issuer) is the first question. Say whether you can satisfy it. If you cannot, you are a DAIA issuer, not a Rule 300 issuer.
- Do not offer Class T as a model for Rule 200. Offer DAIA as a model for a licensed public issuance — and then admit that is not an exemption.
Analysis
What the file is
Bermuda built a single regulator (the BMA) and two statutes: DABA for the operating business, DAIA for the public issuance. Class T is a test licence (the 24X Bitcoin trade of 1 September 2026 ran on a T licence that must say, on the website, that it is a pilot). Class M is modified/limited. Class F is full. More than fifty firms are licensed or in sandbox. That is an activity-licence census, not an endorsement of any token.
Primary sources on file
Digital Asset Business Act 2018 — BMA licensing perimeter
Bermuda Monetary Authority/1 Jan 2018/RCA review 10 Sept 2026
Primary regulatory
BMA Consultation Paper — asset tokenisation (9 April 2026)
Bermuda Monetary Authority/9 Apr 2026/RCA review 10 Sept 2026
Primary regulatory
RCA publishes source-linked intelligence for professionals. Nothing here is a token-buying call, a legal opinion, or an “approved / safe / regulated” badge. Every material claim is dated. Incomplete files stay incomplete.