The Seychelles Cryptocurrency Laws Regulation of Digital Currencies: Cryptocurrency, Bitcoins, Blockchain Technology
The legal regime for regulation of cryptocurrencies is still underdeveloped in Seychelles and ICOs are not specifically regulated. Despite the ICO not being defined as a ‘security business’ as per its definition under the Securities Act, a facts and circumstances analysis of digital assets, if permitted to be traded online with a Seychelles resident may bring ICOs within the regulatory sphere of the Securities Act. [1]
Thus, cryptocurrency is not treated as a currency and therefore it’s not a form of payment offered by financial institutions licensed or regulated by the Central Bank of Seychelles. However, there’s an increasing popularity of virtual currencies and assets on the international arena, as well as the developing interest on the domestic front and the associated risks and the impact of such activities locally. [2]
Given the popularity of the digital currency activities, the National Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Committee (NAC) are preparing a country position on virtual assets and their service providers, in line with the policies being developed by the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG). [3]
According to Cointobuy’s analysis, the crypto-related activity in this country has a 2.7/10 safety rank, the main ranking factor for Seychelles is that there are 40 ICOs and 1 Exchange office based in this country, and 6 ICOs have restricted Seychelles citizens to take part in their crowdfunding venture. Also, Cointobuy has ranked Seychelles in the position 115 out of 249 countries in terms of cryptocurrency safety. [4]
P.S. Insights on Cryptocurrency Legal Issues
Most jurisdictions and authorities have yet to enact laws governing cryptocurrencies, meaning that, for most countries, the legality of crypto mining remains unclear.
Under the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), crypto miners are considered money transmitters, so they may be subject to the laws that govern that activity. In Israel, for instance, crypto mining is treated as a business and is subject to corporate income tax. In India and elsewhere, regulatory uncertainty persists, although Canada and the United States are relatively friendly to crypto mining.
However, apart from jurisdictions that have specifically banned cryptocurrency-related activities, very few countries prohibit crypto mining.
Our Freeman Law Cryptocurrency Law Resource page provides a summary of the legal status of cryptocurrency for each country across the globe with statutory or regulatory provisions governing cryptocurrency. The globe below provides links to country-by-country summaries:
