Isle of Man
Answer ... Bitcoin is the most widely accepted convertible virtual currency (CVC) and can be used as a means of payment in some retail establishments. It is also accepted by some professional service providers. Other virtual currencies such as Ethereum, Litecoin and Ripple have also gained some traction. No virtual currency is particularly dominant for any particular use cases.
Isle of Man
Answer ... CVCs can be bought and sold through independent exchanges for fiat currency, or for other CVCs.
CVCs have also gained traction in the e-gaming market, and it is possible for players to open and fund accounts with licensed Isle of Man gaming operators using CVCs rather than fiat money.
Isle of Man
Answer ... Most virtual currency service providers are structured as companies with limited liability and are independently privately financed. That said, the Isle of Man Government Department for Enterprise has various funding initiatives to support and encourage new and growing businesses. The most significant is the Enterprise Development Scheme, under which the department can invest up to £1 million in a new or growing business, by way of either equity or debt, subject to certain qualifying criteria.
Other important government initiatives include:
- grants of up to £10,000, depending on the nature and size of the business;
- interest-free loans for projects to improve the business’s energy efficiency, up to a maximum of £20,000 per project;
- grants towards premises; equipment; set-up costs (eg, legal fees and hosting fees); rent and employee relocation; and
- national insurance and income tax holidays or reductions for businesses and their employees.
Isle of Man
Answer ... Any business which engages in ‘convertible virtual currency activity’ in or from the Isle of Man must, as a minimum, register with the IOMFSA under the Designated Businesses Act. Depending on the nature of the business’ activities, it may require a financial services licence instead of registering under the act, especially if its activities involve security tokens or other virtual currencies which meet the definition of ‘investment’ in Isle of Man law.
The IOMFSA has indicated that token exchanges which provide a primary or secondary market for tokenised securities will be able to operate in the Isle of Man only if they obtain a financial services licence for crowdfunding activities (this is a recognised class of licence); but real-time or automated trading is not permitted.
The Isle of Man does not currently have the legislative framework or regulatory apparatus in place to enable it to license or supervise a securities exchange which complies with the International Organization of Securities Commissions principles.