Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis isn’t backing away from his country’s bid to be a hotbed for digital-asset companies, even as the collapse of FTX rattles crypto investors worldwide.
(Bloomberg) — Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis isn’t backing away from his country’s bid to be a hotbed for digital-asset companies, even as the collapse of FTX rattles crypto investors worldwide.
In an address to parliament on Wednesday, Davis said that his government hasn’t found issues with its regulatory framework that could have helped avoid the turmoil. Rather, Davis said, the rules that the Bahamas has in place let regulators take “immediate steps in order to protect the interests of clients, creditors, and other stakeholders globally.”
Last week’s collapse of FTX has rocked crypto markets around the world and prompted investigations by Bahamian and American authorities. In addition to probing the firm, officials have been looking into whether former Chief Executive Officer Sam Bankman-Fried broke rules.
“I have given directions that these proceedings and investigations are to be of the highest order and given precedence, given the amounts involved and because committed and rigorous oversight is of national importance,” Davis said in remarks for parliament on Wednesday. “I have every confidence that The Bahamas will emerge from the proceedings involving FTX – proceedings taking place here as well as in other jurisdictions — with an enhanced reputation as a solid digital assets jurisdiction,” he added in his prepared remarks.
The outlook for the burgeoning crypto industry in the Bahamas has been thrust to the forefront by FTX, which had set up a headquarters for its now crumbled global network of businesses in the island nation. Bankman-Fried also moved there and was interviewed by local police on Saturday.
The Bahamas securities regulator announced Nov. 10 that it had frozen FTX assets and that an attorney had been appointed as a provisional liquidator. More than 130 entities tied to FTX.com, FTX US and trading firm Alameda Research Ltd. were included in a bankruptcy filing in the US the following day.
Davis said on Wednesday that the Bahamas was already planning to update its regulatory framework by the end of the year “to address lessons learned as a result of this year’s crypto winter.” Regarding FTX, he said the government would be coordinating with authorities from other countries and a key priority was “to minimize losses and to mitigate the overall impact caused by any misconduct.”
(Updates with additional comments from Prime Minister Davis in final paragraph.)
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