NASSAU, BAHAMAS- The Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB), in its just-released 2024 Annual Report, has noted that it has launched foundational research on the tokenization of real-world assets, following expressed interest from licensees and other stakeholders.
“The Commission has begun drafting three foundational papers on the tokenization of real-world assets. The papers intend to examine the features of asset tokenization, common use cases of asset tokenization, and its benefits, risks, and regulatory concerns. The papers do not intend to develop a policy recommendation on asset tokenization; however, it will serve as the Commission’s preliminary research of asset tokenization, which may inform future policy decisions,” the report states.
Tokenization is the process of converting physical or tangible assets into digital tokens on a blockchain. These tokens represent ownership, rights, or a share of the underlying asset and can be bought, sold, or traded digitally. Assets that can be tokenized include real estate, commodities, art, and intellectual property.
The SCB report noted also noted that, at the end of 2024, there were 25 firms registered under the Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Act (DARE). The promulgation of the DARE Act 2024 on 29 July repealed and replaced DARE 2020 and resulted in a number of changes to the supervisory framework for digital assets and registered exchanges. A summary of the key legislative changes is presented in the Legislative. The regulator noted that during the year, the DARE Unit continued to engage in pre-applicant meetings relating to registration under the Act.
The Commission also reported that there were 18 enforcement matters brought forward from 2023. During 2024, 2 litigation matters were opened, 1 criminal matter was opened, and 1 litigation matter was closed. As at 31 December 2024, 20 enforcement matters remained open, of which 13 involved litigation, 3 were administrative and 4 were criminal matters. Criminal matters are transferred to another agency; however, the Commission maintains the matters on its records until they are resolved. Administrative matters primarily concerned non-compliance with filing obligations and client files or records requirements under the Securities Industry Act and Regulations.
