Bermuda’s regulation of the digital asset business has focused on corporate behaviour and minimising the risks specifically related to priority problems of financial crime, a Bermuda lawyer has told a new London club of cryptocurrency investors, wealth managers and advisers, including offshore trustees.

Steven Rees Davies, a partner in the Bermuda office of Carey Olsen, has shared his knowledge about the growing crypto native business on the island during a presentation at the Citywealth Crypto Club in London.

The club was founded by award-winning businesswoman Karen Jones, who in 2005 established Citywealth – a publishing and events company that connects ultra high net worth individuals and private wealth managers.

Ms Jones joined the mere five per cent of crypto entrepreneurs who are women when she created the Citywealth Crypto Club a year ago for the safe adoption of crypto for the institutional ultra high net worth or accredited investor market.

The club meets quarterly to keep abreast of the latest developments within the sector.

The visitor from Bermuda was joined at the meeting by Lord Holmes of Richmond MBE, a member of the influential House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology, who gave an update on UK regulation progress.

Mr Rees Davies said he “was pleased to join Lord Holmes (co-chair of UK Parliamentary Groups on fintech, AI, blockchain, assistive technology and the Fourth Industrial Revolution) at the Citywealth Crypto Club Spring meeting in London.

“Together, we shared our insight on the future of the sector from a regulatory perspective – I focused on Bermuda's digital asset business regime and the resilience shown in the markets by those regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority.”

He added: “The UK Government are looking to regulate activities in the digital assets sector in a similar fashion to the Bermuda regime, which introduced its legislation in 2018, and focuses on regulating the activities and services rather than the technology or tokens themselves.

“The Bermuda regime has paid close attention to corporate governance and mitigating risk, targeting 'traditional' financial crimes including fraud, money laundering and terrorist financing.

“Five years on, Bermuda-based digital assets companies are flourishing and have proven their resilience in a globally challenging market – especially in comparison to their overseas counterparts.”

Mr Rees Davies said: “There was much interest from the club around how Bermuda is handling the nuance of technologies as they develop, and also on asset management outside the safety of third party custodian requirements.

“It was a pleasure and a privilege to represent Bermuda at this event, to share the floor with Lord Holmes, and to meet so many engaged law firms, crypto natives, entrepreneurs and service providers who are equally passionate about the sector in other jurisdictions around the world.”