Turks and Caicos Cryptocurrency Laws Regulation of Digital Currencies: Cryptocurrency, Bitcoins, Blockchain Technology
The Turks and Caicos Islands is a British Overseas Territory, and its system of government is classified as a constitutional monarchy. Therefore, Defense and external affairs are the responsibility of the United Kingdom Government. [1] However, Turks and Caicos has its own parliament, divided into seven ministries, independent and statutory bodies such as the Financial Services Commission. [2]
In 2018, the Caribbean region took a major step into the future of financial transactions, with the signing of an agreement with blockchain technology company, Bitt Inc. The region’s tourism development agency – Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) – entered into the agreement with the company aiming to make the Caribbean region a more integrated economy, facilitating the implementation of amore efficient payment processes for tourism-related products and services. [3]
Despite the negative publicity, the former minister of finance and leader of the opposition believes it is something that the Turks and Caicos Islands should take a look at as the Caribbean region moves to implement the system. [4]
However, Turks and Caicos has not enacted regulations or legislation specifically regulating digital currency yet. According to Cointobuy’s analysis, the crypto-related activity in this country has a 2.7/10 safety rank. Also, Cointobuys has ranked Turks and Caicos in the position 121 out of 249 countries in terms of cryptocurrency safety. [5]
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:
[3] Cryptocurrency Comes to the Caribbean TCI Urged to be a Part of the Conversation, (Apr. 16, 2018). Available at https://tcweeklynews.com/cryptocurrency-comes-to-the-caribbean-tci-urged-to-be-a-part-of-the-convers-p8617-127.htm
[4] Id.
[5] Cryptocurrency Analysis, “Ultimate crypto investment safety rankings”. (Jun. 4, 2021). Available at https://cointobuy.io/countries/turks-and-caicos-islands
