In the 2024 edition of the Opalesque Bahamas Roundtable, we bring together a panel of experts to discuss the latest developments, opportunities, and break-throughs in the global financial services industry:

1. Dr Iyandra Smith Bryan, Chief Operating Officer, Quantfury Trading Limited
2. Delphino Gilbert Cassar, Head of Business, Development & Fintech of the Equity Group
3. Paul Winder, Global Head of Wealth Planning, Deltec Bank & Trust Limited
4. Antoine Bastian, Chief Executive Officer, Genesis Fund Services Limited

Striking the Right Balance

The Bahamas was one of the first countries to implement the FATF standards as one of only six jurisdictions of over 200 worldwide. All fund structures are also fully compliant with the OECD's Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) framework and the European Union's economic substance requirements.

When it comes to regulate digital assets, some jurisdictions have been trying to fit them awkwardly into existing securities legislation, but it's clear these are fundamentally different types of products and assets than traditional securities, so that approach tends to be suboptimal. The Bahamas Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Act (DARE Act) established a comprehensive, fit-for-purpose pioneering regulatory framework for the sale, issuance, and trading of digital assets in or from The Bahamas. This is a huge differentiator because there are still very few countries in the world that have enacted bespoke legislation covering digital assets in such a thorough manner.

The enhanced DARE Act will address important issues particularly around segregation of duties, managing conflicts of interest in proprietary trading, strict segregation of customer assets from company assets, and expanding the scope of regulated digital asset activities. The DARE Act takes an activities-based approach to licensing and a risk-based approach to supervision. It also tackles major emerging issues like stable coins and their reserve management. It provides clearer definitions and stratification of digital assets like utility tokens versus security tokens. This entails a classification of non- fungible tokens into distinct categories, making The Bahamas a secure, well-regulated jurisdiction for digital asset businesses.

Investors queue up: How The Bahamas leads the charge in Green Finance and "Blue Carbon"

The Bahamas has the world's largest seagrass meadows, which accounts for approximately 25% of the world seagrass.The discussion delves into the transformative potential of green finance and the Bahamas' strategic initiatives in carbon verification and trading. The integration of carbon credits based on seagrass and the development of a robust carbon market infrastructure not only enhance the country's environmental stewardship but also position it as a leader in sustainable finance, which is witnessed by the massive surge of interest from major Wall Street, global firms, family offices and institutional investors who are keen to participate.

The panelists give hands on guidance and insights on:

• Why the Bahamas DARE Act represents a comprehensive framework covering everything from token issuance, custody, and exchange operations: Page 7-10
• How well-defined guidelines regarding liquidity pools and staking programs make the Bahamas trailblazers in the realm of digital asset staking: Page 11
• The Bahamas SMART Fund: the true robustness of a financial services product lies in how it can survive and adapt over time and actually across generations: Page 9, 20-22.
• A proposal for a new Smart Fund to cover digital assets and crypto. How cellular NAV calculations at the sub-fund level bring down costs: Page 22
• Small but significant amendments make the Bahamas Investment Condominium (ICON) funds even more attractive: Page 11
• Green Finance: How The Bahamas, based on its massive marine and coastal ecosystems which makes the country a net exporter of blue and green carbon credits, is breaking new ground in Green Finance, meeting substantial investor interest: Page 16-19
• Doing Business In A Connected World: How The Bahamas scores with highest legal standards, a new Arbitration Act, and paradisiac environments: Page 24-26
• Going beyond plain vanilla in FinTech and why Private Banking isn't dead: Page 27-28
• Confidentiality vs. privacy of personal data: Page 30-32
• Why The Bahamas leads in asset protection and structuring: Page 32-33
• The Bahamas permanent residency: Living in paradise starts at $500K: Page 34

We extend our thanks to our esteemed panelists for sharing their expertise and insights, and we hope our readers find this discussion informative and thought-provoking.

Matthias Knab

knab@opalesque.com

The Opalesque Roundtable Series offers unparalleled intelligence on the most important global hedge fund jurisdictions and their players. The Roundtable Series is a free publication from Opalesque and is continually updated. Please scroll down to view the full selection of our Roundtables - covering the globe!

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