Antigua & Barbuda passes Digital Assets Business Bill 2020 into law

Antigua and Barbuda has entered a new era for digital asset businesses, after its pioneering Digital Assets Business Bill 2020 came into law earlier this month.

The law was formally added to the statute books on June 18, introducing a new and comprehensive regulatory framework for digital asset businesses, clients and customers.

The Act has been welcomed by businesses in the sector, with Antigua fast emerging as a global hub for Bitcoin BSV and other digital assets tokenized on top of the massively scaling original Bitcoin protocol.

Among those supporting the law is The Bayesian Group, which worked with government to advise on the legislation. A spokesperson for the group said the laws would bring more trust and credibility to the sector.

“The Bayesian Group was one of the entities asked to advise on the Digital Assets Business Act, 2020 due to our extensive regulatory knowledge with respect to digital assets and traditional finance. We believe public-private partnerships for the creation of legislation are fundamental to bringing trust and credibility to emerging and innovative industries,” Johnny Jaswal, General Counsel of The Bayesian Group, told CoinGeek. “We were honoured to participate in this historic bill, which will strengthen Antigua’s reputation as an economic innovator.”

He added, “We believe that the legislative framework hits the right balance of regulation and industry flexibility so companies can operate effectively. Governments will use Antigua’s forward-thinking legislation as a benchmark for bringing safe, credible and regulated digital asset businesses together to foster economic innovation. At The Bayesian Group, we are always looking to find that balance so we can bring confidence to economies, institutional investors and our clients.”

Bitcoin Association, the global industry organization that supports Bitcoin SV, was also involved in advising on the legislation. Founding President Jimmy Nguyen commented:  “I am pleased to see Antigua and Barbuda establish a comprehensive framework to govern businesses involved with a broad range of digital assets. It is especially helpful that the law defines various types of digital assets beyond currency equivalents, but also covers things such as assets representing debt or equity. The numerous cryptocurrencies we see today are mostly unnecessary, and the future will instead be driven by real assets tokenized on the Bitcoin SV blockchain. The Antigua and Barbuda law lays the foundation for responsible businesses to grow and support a true tokenized world.”

Calvin Ayre, founder of Ayre Group and CoinGeek, said the law would help create a new industry around the scaling ability of the original Bitcoin.

“This Bill legitimizes Antigua as a serious player in the new Digital Asset industry as it will all license holders. I intend to get one of the licenses myself,” said Ayre, who is also the Economic Envoy for Technology Development for Antigua and Barbuda.