BVA is famous for its opportunities as offshore jurisdiction and has an elaborate system of crypto regulation. It's located in Lesser Antilles, Carribean and has a status of the United Kingdom overseas territory. The territory of BVA is about 151 km2 and total population - 37,381. Since 1959 BVA use US dollar as a national currency, which simplifies cross-border transactions.
Country overview
#10
British Virgin IslandsCountry stats
Rating Points
420
This indicator describes the overall rating of a given jurisdiction on several parameters according to cryptocurrency operations - market volume, crypto regulation, business climate, taxation framework.
Crypto Penetration
5%
Estimated percentage of crypto users out of the country's total population based on public data.
Legal Entities
12
Number of crypto companies registered in the country based on regulator data if available or other types of public data.
Regulation Points
190
An overall assessment of the granularity of crypto regulation in a given country. A high score is also given to countries where cryptocurrency transactions are highly regulated.
Amount of crypto users
1 500
Total amount of crypto users out of the country's total population based on public data.
Taxation points
90
This figure, according to our analysts' calculations, indicates the overall level of tax burden for cryptocurrency transactions in a given country. The higher the indicator, the lower the burden.
Market volume points
14.5
A rough estimate of this jurisdiction's retail crypto market relative to the rest of the world. The higher the indicator, the higher the market potential.
Status of crypto
Legally allowed
General status of cryptocurrency regulation in this jurisdiction.
Crypto payments
No info
The legal status of cryptocurrency payments for goods and services in a given country based on information from regulators, public data and feedback from our community.
Security Level
High danger
The overall level of security in a given country based on open data.
Crypto Salaries
No info
The legal status of cryptocurrency salaries to employers in a given country based on information from regulators, public data and feedback from our community.
Business Climate
Good
Overall assessment of the friendliness of this country for crypto-business. This indicator takes into account the cost of obtaining a license and the attitude towards crypto entities in the country.
Stablecoin Regulation
Low
This indicator is evaluating the regulation of stablecoins in a given country. Complex regulation means that it is possible to issue steiblcoins and obtain a license for this activity. Basic regulation means that the issuance of stablecoins is possible, but not all legal aspects are defined in the law. Standard regulation means that there is a legal practice of steylcoin circulation in a given country.
Bad Factors
EU Tax haven list
This section describes the unfavorable economic factors for crypto-business in a given country. These are countries that are under sanctions or on the FATF grey list and other factors.
Types of licenses
Crypto-to-crypto
This license type allows VASP to provide legal exchange from one cryptocurrency to another.
Crypto-to-fiat
This type of license regulates the exchange from cryptocurrency to fiat.
Wallet/Custody
This country has a legal licensing procedure for companies that store cryptocurrency - - crypto wallet providers and custodians.
Cryptofund
This indicator means that investment funds, trusts, and crypto funds can get regulator approval to provide their activity in the country.
Good
Medium
Bad
According to our rating, the British Virgin Islands has a high danger security level. Homicide level (1) is 8.2 per 100,000 inhabitants a year.
There are precise regulations for crypto payments in BVI. But it’s probably possible to accept crypto payments according to current regulation and its interpretation from Carey Olsen's review (2) of BVA's VASP act.
We need more information about crypto salaries in BVA and their regulation. Please get in touch with us if you have this type of data.
VASPs in the British Virgin Islands are regulated by the Financial Services Commission (FSC). You can find more information about VASP licensing in BVI on the site of FSC (3):
-Guidance on VASP registration procedure (4)
-VASP AML Guide (5)
-VASP Act (6)
VASP Act came into force on 1 February 2023. Any crypto companies providing VASP services must register with the FSC. Carey Olsen (7) has provided an overview of BVA's VASP Act, and according to it, VASPs include crypto exchange, custody, transfers, and other types of activity.
Definition of VASP from Carey Olsen
The VASP Act defines a “VASP” as a virtual asset service provider who provides, as a business, a virtual assets service and is registered to conduct one or more of the following activities or operations for or on behalf of another person:
According to Carey Olsen, any entity that wants to register as a VASP also must pay registration fees:
-US$10,000 for an application to provide Virtual Assets Custody Services
-US$10,000 for an application to operate a Virtual Assets Exchange
-US$5,000 for any other virtual assets services.
According to Conyers guide (8) on BVI, there are also available two other types of crypto licenses - crypto funds/mutual Funds and derivatives (regulated under SIBA).
As for March 2024 local official during the briefing claimed (9) that there are about 60 applications to get VASP license in BVI. Based on Cointelegraph (10), Huobi has a legal entity in the British Virgin Islands.
| Tax name | Index |
| PIT tax Min | 0 |
| PIT tax Max | 0 |
| Corporate tax (CIT) | 0 |
| Min Individual CGT (for crypto) | 0 |
| Max Individual CGT (for crypto) | 0 |
| Wealth tax Min | 0 |
| Wealth tax Max | 0 |
According to Loebsmith (11), BVI companies are not subject to “income, corporate, capital gains or wealth taxes, withholdings or other similar taxes” under BVI law.
Also, according to Enterslice guide (12), BVI has no double taxation agreement with any jurisdiction, which means it doesn't disclose any information to other jurisdictions except the US - since BVI has signed the US FATCA Agreement to fight against tax evasion. However, businesses that recruit local employees pay a 10% payroll tax.
Most personal income taxes are tax-free, according to Enterslice.
No direct personal taxes are levied in BVI. Personal income, capital gains, net worth, and inheritances are also exempt from taxes.
Payroll taxes at the rate of 8% can be refunded at the expense of the employees. In addition to the payroll taxes, social security is contributed by both employers and employees at the rate of 4.5%.
1)List of countries by intentional homicide rate
2)Carey Olsen. Every VASP should know ten things about the BVI Virtual Assets Service Providers Act, 2022
3)FSC The Virtual Assets Service Providers Act, 2022 (short review)
4)FSC Guidance on VASP registration procedure
5)Virtual Assets Service Providers Guide to the Prevention of Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Proliferation Financing
6)BVI VASP Act 2022 (full version)
7)Carey Olsen. Every VASP should know ten things about the BVI Virtual Assets Service Providers Act, 2022
8)Conyers. A Practical BVI Guide to Crypto, Tokens, and VASPs
9)Government of BVI. The Emergence of the British Virgin Islands as a Global Digital Assets Hub
11)Loeb Smith. Critical factors for launching virtual assets business in BVI.
12)Enterslice. Tax Compliance.
Last update: November 2024