{"id":126210,"date":"2025-04-01T05:15:41","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T05:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/?p=126210"},"modified":"2025-04-01T05:15:41","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T05:15:41","slug":"vanuatu-passes-long-awaited-crypto-laws-that-wont-be-light-touch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/?p=126210","title":{"rendered":"Vanuatu passes long-awaited crypto laws that won\u2019t be \u2018light touch\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: Cointelegraph.com NewsVanuatu has passed laws to regulate digital assets and provide a licensing regime for crypto companies wanting to operate in the Pacific island nation, which a government regulatory consultant has called \u201cvery stringent.\u201d\u00a0
\nThe local parliament passed the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act on March 26, giving crypto licensing authority to the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC) along with powers to enforce the Financial Action Task Force\u2019s Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorism Financing and Travel Rule standards with crypto firms.
\nThe VFSC has sweeping investigation and enforcement powers under the laws, with penalties stipulating fines of up to 250 million vatu ($2 million) and up to 30 years in prison.
\n\u201cGod help any scammer that goes into Vanuatu because you\u2019ll go to jail,\u201d Loretta Joseph, who consulted with the regulator on the laws, told Cointelegraph. \u201cThe laws are very stringent.\u201d
\n\u201cThe thing is, we don\u2019t want another FTX debacle,\u201d she added, referring to the once Bahamas-based crypto exchange that collapsed in 2022 due to massive fraud committed by its co-founders, Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang, along with other executives.
\n\u201cVanuatu is a small jurisdiction. Small jurisdictions are preyed on by the players that are looking for no regulation or light touch regulation,\u201d Joseph said. \u201cThis is certainly not that.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m so proud of them to be the first country in the Pacific to actually take a position and do this,\u201d she added.\u00a0
\nNew Vanuatu law regulates slate of crypto companies
\nThe law establishes a licensing and reporting framework for exchanges, non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces, crypto custody providers and initial coin offerings.
\nThe law notably allows for banks to be licensed to provide crypto exchange and custody services. Source: Parliament of the Republic of VanuatuThe VFSC said that the legislation doesn\u2019t affect stablecoins, tokenized securities, and central bank digital currencies even though they \u201cmay in practice share some similarities with virtual assets.\u201d
\nThe legislation also allows for the VFSC\u2019s commissioner to create a sandbox to allow approved companies to offer a variety of crypto services for a year, which can be renewed.
\nRelated: Australia outlines crypto regulation plan, promises action on debanking
\nJoseph said Vanuatu \u201cneeded a standalone piece of legislation\u201d that covered Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terror Financing requirements, as the country didn\u2019t have existing laws suited to virtual assets.
\nThe regulator said in a March 29 statement that it had developed the legislative framework after years of \u201cassessing the risks associated with virtual assets,\u201d and the laws would open \u201cnumerous opportunities for Vanuatu\u201d and improve financial inclusion by allowing regulated services for crypto cross-border payments.
\nVFSC Commissioner Branan Karae had said in June that the bill was expected to pass that September, but Joseph said the legislation was \u201cnot something that was done lightly.\u201d It had been in development since 2020 and was delayed due to changes in government, natural disasters and COVID-19 pandemic-related disruptions.
\nMagazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025\u00a0Read More<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: Cointelegraph.com NewsVanuatu has passed laws to regulate digital assets and provide a licensing regime for crypto companies wanting to operate in the Pacific island nation, which a government regulatory… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126210"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=126210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126210\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=126210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=126210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=126210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}