Jamaica's House of Representatives began debating the Virtual Assets Service Providers Act on September 22, seeking to establish a formal licensing and oversight framework for digital-asset businesses. The bill would require any commercial provider serving Jamaican consumers to obtain a Financial Services Commission (FSC) license, regardless of where it is headquartered. Covered activities would include exchanging cryptocurrency for fiat money, transferring digital assets between wallets, and holding crypto assets or private keys for clients. Licensed firms would need to verify customer identities, monitor transactions, report suspicious activity and comply with the international travel rule for sharing sender and recipient details. Unlicensed operations would be criminal offenses and licensed providers would fall under Jamaica's existing anti-money-laundering laws. Finance Minister Fayval Williams said the measure responds to residents using overseas platforms without local regulatory protection, while stressing that an FSC license would not recognize any cryptocurrency as legal tender or guarantee the assets traded. The Jamaican dollar would remain the country's only legal tender, and the FSC would gain authority to license, supervise and shut down noncompliant providers.