Bahamas: technology regulation at a glance

Framework: Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Act, 2024 (DARE Act 2024), administered by the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB); builds on DARE Act 2020.

The Bahamas has a comprehensive, in-force framework for digital assets under the DARE Act 2024, passed by Parliament on 26 July 2024 and effective from 29/30 July 2024. The SCB licenses/registers digital-asset businesses (exchanges, custodians, stablecoin issuers, advisers, staking providers) with detailed rules on conduct, disclosures, custody, and stablecoin reserves. The regime is expressly designed to reposition the Bahamas as a well-regulated crypto hub after the FTX collapse, while The Bahamas maintains its long-standing no-capital-gains, no-VAT-on-crypto tax posture.

Framework: Data Protection Bill 2025 (pending enactment, includes AI provisions); URCA Draft Annual Plan 2025 (sectoral telecom AI requirements); national AI white paper under development

The Bahamas has no dedicated AI law in force as of May 2026. The government is actively developing a national AI strategy and white paper, while the Data Protection Bill 2025, currently before Parliament, will serve as the primary legislative instrument covering AI use, modelled on the EU GDPR. The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) has introduced sector-specific AI notification requirements for public communications licensees pending broader legislation.

Framework: Data Protection Act, 2025 (assented 9 December 2025; replaces the Data Protection (Privacy of Personal Information) Act, 2003). Supervisory authority: Office of the Data Protection Commissioner.

The Bahamas has maintained a comprehensive data protection regime since 2003, making it one of the earliest Caribbean nations to enact such a law. The Data Protection Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 9 December 2025 and is published in the Official Gazette under principal legislation, replaces the 2003 Act with a modernised GDPR-influenced framework covering biometrics, AI, cloud computing, and digital assets. The Act will come into force on a date appointed by the Minister by Gazette notice, with phased implementation planned.

Framework: Payment Systems Act 2012 & Payment Instruments (Oversight) Regulations 2017 (Central Bank of The Bahamas); Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Act 2024 (Securities Commission of The Bahamas)

The Bahamas operates a mature, dual-regulator licensing regime for digital payments and fintech. The Central Bank of The Bahamas (CBB) licenses non-bank payment service providers and e-money issuers under the Payment Systems Act 2012 and Payment Instruments (Oversight) Regulations 2017, while the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB) regulates digital asset businesses under the DARE Act 2024 (in force 29 July 2024). The country also issued the world's first live retail CBDC (Sand Dollar) in October 2020 and contracted Montran to build a national Fast Payment System targeting Q1 2027.

Framework: Immigration Act (Chapter 191), administered by the Bahamas Department of Immigration; Economic Permanent Residence program under the Bahamas Investment Authority

The Bahamas launched the BEATS (Extended Access Travel Stay) dedicated remote-work permit in 2021, but the programme appears suspended by around 2022-2024 with no formal official announcement, only 34 approvals were ever recorded. Remote workers currently have no dedicated active pathway and must rely on the annual Permit to Reside (which covers living without local employment) or, for high-net-worth individuals, the Economic Certificate of Permanent Residence requiring a minimum BSD 1 million investment as of January 2025.

Framework: Computer Misuse Act 2003; Data Protection (Privacy of Personal Information) Act 2003; URCA Code of Practice for Content Regulation (revised 2024); Data Protection Bill 2025 (pending enactment)

The Bahamas addresses online safety through a patchwork of older legislation, primarily the Computer Misuse Act 2003 (cybercrime offences) and the Data Protection Act 2003 (privacy), supplemented by URCA's broadcasting/electronic communications content code. There is no comprehensive platform-liability or online safety law comparable to the EU's DSA or the UK's Online Safety Act, and no dedicated age-verification or content-moderation regime for online platforms. A modernised Data Protection Bill 2025 (GDPR-inspired) passed the lower chamber of parliament in late 2025 and awaits Senate passage and Royal Assent.

Framework: Computer Misuse Act 2003 (cybercrime); Data Protection Act 2003 (data security); Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 2003 (digital transactions); National Cybersecurity Strategy launched December 2024 (policy); Data Protection Bill 2025 (proposed)

The Bahamas relies on a fragmented set of domain-specific laws, principally the Computer Misuse Act 2003 and Data Protection Act 2003, rather than a single comprehensive cybersecurity statute. There is currently no mandatory breach-notification or incident-reporting duty, though a Data Protection Bill 2025 under parliamentary consideration would introduce GDPR-inspired requirements including mandatory breach notification. A Cabinet-approved National Cybersecurity Strategy was launched in December 2024, establishing a policy road-map but not yet backed by new primary legislation.

Framework: International Business Companies Act (Ch. 309); Companies Act 1992 (Ch. 308); Bahamas Investment Authority Act, administered by the Registrar General's Department and the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA)

The Bahamas operates a two-track system: foreign-owned International Business Companies (IBCs) are incorporated with minimal friction, 100% foreign ownership, no minimum capital, and no BIA approval required for purely offshore operations. Foreigners wishing to operate locally (domestic companies) must submit a project proposal to the BIA, meet a minimum investment threshold of BS$500,000, and receive National Economic Council approval, with certain sectors reserved exclusively for Bahamians. A 2025 amendment to the IBC Act tightened beneficial-ownership transparency rules in line with FATF Recommendation 24 but left foreign-ownership rights intact.