Bermuda

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Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has opened a derivatives trading platform in Bermuda, having received a license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA).&nbsp;
Bermuda is becoming an attractive locale for regulating cryptocurrency activities. Kraken follows Coinbase International and HashKey Global to the island.
<h2 id="lots-of-trading-options">Lots of trading options&nbsp;</h2>
The BMA indicates that Payward Digital Solutions (Kraken’s legal name) received a Class F Digital Business License on July 30, enabling it to provide wallet services, operate as a digital asset derivative exchange provider and operate as a digital asset lending or digital asset repurchase transactions service provider, among other things.&nbsp;
Alexia Theodorou of Kraken Derivatives confirmed the licensing and told Cointelegraph:
<blockquote>
 “The BMA has demonstrated that it is committed to fostering innovation.&nbsp;Its&nbsp;licensing process is rigorous yet fair, and both&nbsp;protects consumers and ensures businesses operate with transparency and integrity: something Kraken is fully aligned with.”
</blockquote>
Kraken’s initial offerings on the new platform are perpetual and fixed-maturity futures with over 200 contracts available. Collateral options include fiat currency and more than 30 cryptocurrencies.
In its announcement, Kraken&nbsp;<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241003985524/en/Kraken-Launches-Regulated-Derivatives-Venue-in-Bermuda" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">said</a>&nbsp;its expansion is “well timed.” Head of trading Shannon Kurtas said, “Derivatives now account for the majority of total crypto trading volumes. […] We anticipate continued growth in derivative volumes and open interest.”
Customers in eligible jurisdictions can use the platform, the exchange said, without specifying which jurisdictions those are.
<figure>
 <img alt="Kraken launches derivatives trading in Bermuda with BMA license" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-10/01925346-2a8f-7829-a92b-d409e017517e" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Some of Kraken’s futures trading options. Source: Kraken
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Related:&nbsp;<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/jesse-powell-donates-1m-crypto-trump-2024" rel="" target="_self" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/news/jesse-powell-donates-1m-crypto-trump-2024">Kraken’s Jesse Powell donates $1M in crypto to Trump campaign</a>
<h3 id="bermuda-is-welcoming-while-some-other-jurisdictions-are-difficult">Bermuda is welcoming, while some other jurisdictions are difficult</h3>
Bermuda has been developing its crypto sector under pro-crypto Premier E. David Burt, who took office in 2017. The Bermuda Digital Asset Business Act was passed in 2018.
Binance invested in a “global compliance base” in Bermuda, which&nbsp;<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-signs-agreement-with-bermuda-govt-on-15-mln-investment-jobs" rel="" target="_self" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-signs-agreement-with-bermuda-govt-on-15-mln-investment-jobs">created around 40</a>&nbsp;new jobs in 2018. The Bermuda Stock Exchange&nbsp;<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/brazilian-fund-manager-and-nasdaq-to-launch-world-s-first-bitcoin-etf" rel="" target="_self" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/news/brazilian-fund-manager-and-nasdaq-to-launch-world-s-first-bitcoin-etf">became home to the first-ever</a>&nbsp;Bitcoin (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price" rel="" target="_self" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>) exchange-traded fund in 2020.&nbsp;
Coinbase International&nbsp;<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-starts-perpetual-futures-trading-retail-customers" rel="" target="_self" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-starts-perpetual-futures-trading-retail-customers">launched retail perpetual futures</a>&nbsp;trading under BMA regulation in September 2023. Hong Kong-based HashKey Group opened HashKey Global there in April,&nbsp;<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/hashkey-global-crypto-exchange-launch-bermuda" rel="" target="_self" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/news/hashkey-global-crypto-exchange-launch-bermuda">praising the regulatory environment</a>&nbsp;Bermuda offered.
<figure>
 <a href="https://www.instagram.com/davidburtmp/p/C--RaHRR-Zz/?img_index=1" title="David Burt" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> <img alt="Kraken launches derivatives trading in Bermuda with BMA license" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-10/01925348-35fa-7eef-a821-761c035bfcb1" title=""></a>
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Source: David Burt/Instagram
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Burt appeared at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium in August, where he said that “Bermuda prides itself on being a compliant jurisdiction to international standards.” Kraken was a co-host of that event. Burt said in the Kraken announcement:&nbsp;
<blockquote>
 “We are pleased to welcome Kraken to Bermuda and in joining our growing market of BMA licensed digital asset businesses.”
</blockquote>
Kraken&nbsp;<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/kraken-reaches-30m-settlement-with-sec-over-staking" rel="" target="_self" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/news/kraken-reaches-30m-settlement-with-sec-over-staking">paid $30 million in a settlement</a>&nbsp;with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and agreed to close down staking operations in the country in February 2023. In November of that year,&nbsp;the <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/court-denies-kraken-motion-dismiss-sec-lawsuit" rel="" target="_self" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/news/court-denies-kraken-motion-dismiss-sec-lawsuit">SEC&nbsp;charged&nbsp;Kraken</a> with&nbsp;“operating [a] crypto trading platform as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, dealer, and clearing agency.”
Magazine:&nbsp;<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/crypto-inevitable-all-in-meet-vance-spencer/" rel="" target="_self" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/crypto-inevitable-all-in-meet-vance-spencer/">‘Crypto is inevitable’ so we went ‘all in’: Meet Vance Spencer, permabull</a>
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Kraken launches derivatives trading in Bermuda with BMA license

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