I went to the Bahamas last week. OASIS ON CHAIN It’s a three-day summit on consumer cryptocurrency, culture, and co-creation (that’s why there was no newsletter last week).
Held at Tech Coworking & Community Hub Space Crypto IsleThere I met many entrepreneurs, engineers, advocates, experts, digital asset licensing lawyers and investors, learned a lot and further strengthened the relationships I had built there for almost two years.
Here’s what I learned: They’re open to digital business.
Since the arrest and indictment of Sam Bankman Freed, the American con man who led FTX…
- The Bahamas government has begun amending its Digital Assets Act (DARE) to prevent fraud and restructure areas beyond cryptocurrency trading businesses.
- There has been a significant increase in interest and registrations globally for companies wishing to register their digital asset related businesses in The Bahamas.
- Entrepreneurial millennials are leading the development of the ecosystem: fintech, blockchain and cryptocurrency are driving the country’s efforts to diversify away from its reliance on tourism, and while the culture is still in its infancy, it is growing.
- FX controls are stricter than Jamaica or Trinidad and are not particularly friendly to Bahamians.
Tailwind
A leader in digital asset legislation and business culture, the Bahamas is now enjoying a boost, especially with the United States approving a Bitcoin ETF.
More recently, Alphabet announced that it would include certain cryptocurrency products in its Google ad network starting Jan. 29. The announcement marks a turning point for the potential mainstream acceptance of digital assets and signals a new confidence in the financial sector.
Further Global ownership of digital assets grew by 34% in 2023. The user base grew from 432 million in January to 580 million by the end of the year. In the Caribbean, there were 214,000 Crypto owners in 2022.
Tech Ecosystem Builders and Leaders to Check Out When in Nassau
Crypt Isle – Davinia Bain & Dr. Gillian Bethel
Caribbean Blockchain Alliance – Stephen Delvaux
Words from Stephen Delvaux, Founder of OasisOnChain Summit
“We have an opportunity to impact the Bahamas from the bottom up with crypto” Oasis is picking up the pieces after FTX and shining a light on the Bahamas
