Trinidad and Tobago

As of December 12, 2025, the regulatory status of retail cryptocurrency trading in Trinidad and Tobago is best classified as a 'Gray-Zone' with significant restrictive elements. The Parliament passed the *Virtual Assets and Virtual Assets Service Providers Act, 2025* in late November 2025, marking the country's first dedicated legislation for the sector. However, rather than immediately opening the market, the Act includes a controversial 'transitional restriction'—effectively a moratorium—that prohibits the Trinidad and Tobago Securities and Exchange Commission (TTSEC) from granting licenses to Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) until December 31, 2027. This approach aims to allow regulators time to build supervisory capacity while technically having a law on the books to satisfy international AML/CFT standards.

The practical implication for retail investors is a near-total absence of legal, local avenues to buy or sell cryptocurrencies. The Act criminalizes the operation of unauthorized virtual asset businesses with fines up to $5 million and imprisonment, forcing any remaining local operators to shut down or move underground. While the legislation targets 'business' activities (exchanges, custodians, wallet providers) rather than individual holding or peer-to-peer transfers, the ecosystem for safe trading has been dismantled for the interim period.

The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (CBTT) has maintained a cautious stance, supporting the moratorium due to concerns over financial stability and consumer protection. The CBTT, TTSEC, and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIUTT) collaborate through a 'Joint Regulatory Hub' to monitor the sector, but their current focus is on enforcement of the ban on unauthorized providers rather than facilitation. The banking sector reinforces this restrictiveness, with most commercial banks blocking transactions to known crypto exchanges to avoid de-risking penalties.

Despite the operational freeze, the legal classification of cryptocurrency has shifted from 'unregulated' to 'regulated but restricted.' The government acknowledges virtual assets as a property class for tax purposes, and the Trinidad and Tobago Revenue Authority expects citizens to report capital gains from crypto transactions. The rush to pass the 2025 Act was largely driven by the upcoming Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) mutual evaluation in March 2026, forcing the government to demonstrate legislative progress even if full implementation is delayed until 2028.