J$8.9b in crypto flows through Jamaican banks over five years

Banks reported J$8.9 billion in cryptocurrency-related transactions flowing through the island over five years to 2025, even though no virtual asset service providers operate domestically.

The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ), which regulates financial institutions, found that this absence of a domestic crypto exchange keeps the risk low, “but shifts in international banking conditions could influence future behaviour, making ongoing monitoring essential”.

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero, Zcash, Dash, and so on, carry a “very high inherent risk at a global level due to anonymity, usability, and cross-border transfer features”, according to the third National Risk Assessment published in June by the Bank of Jamaica. Other asset classes, such as stablecoins and platform tokens, present differentiated risk profiles depending on use case, it added.

“Reported virtual asset-related transactions through deposit-taking institutions over the period 2020–June 2025 amounted to approximately J$8.9 billion,” the report stated, adding that the amount covered 296,156 transactions and equates to less than one per cent of GDP.

The figure represents only what passes through Jamaica’s regulated banking system – and is dwarfed by third-party estimates of the island’s actual offshore crypto activity. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis placed Jamaica 104th on its Global Crypto Adoption Index and 15th among Latin American economies in 2024, “with an estimated annual transaction value of approximately US$2.07 billion” – a figure which the report said was “derived from web traffic proxy methodology and treated as directional only”.

The gap is structural: since no licensed platform exists locally, Jamaicans must route all virtual asset activity through foreign, offshore exchanges. In practice, this means cryptocurrency is bought by sending money from a Jamaican bank account to an overseas platform, and converted back to cash by reversing that flow – with the regulated banking system acting as the checkpoint on both ends.

Even so, the report noted that Jamaica was not among the jurisdictions identified by the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act as having materially important virtual asset service provider activity.

Jamaica has no licensed cryptocurrency exchange, no domestic trading platform, and no registered virtual asset broker, according to the assessment in describing virtual asset providers.

“Notwithstanding the absence of a licensed or material domestic virtual asset service provider sector, Jamaica is not insulated from virtual asset-related risk,” stated the assessment, which added that overseas regulation also aids in protecting the local space.

“High-risk virtual asset service providers may face de-risking,” it noted.

The report identifies “on-ramp” methods through which customers convert fiat currency into virtual assets, typically via bank transfers, card payments, or peer-to-peer platforms accessing foreign virtual asset service providers. Conversely, “off-ramp” methods represent the channels through which virtual assets are converted back into fiat currency and reintroduced into the formal financial system, most commonly through deposit-taking institutions...

“These on- and off-ramps are predominantly controlled by regulated financial institutions subject to robust anti-money laundering and counterterrorism obligations,” the assessment stated.

The regulator however cautions against complacency. “When cross-border payments become slower, costlier, or more restricted, individuals may explore alternative transfer methods... . While this is not currently a material channel in Jamaica, the structural reliance on cross-border financial corridors means the country must remain forward-looking,” the report states.

A policy response is already in motion. Jamaica has drafted a Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill, now before Parliament, which would establish a licensing and supervisory framework for service providers, and impose anti-money-laundering obligations.

steven.jackson@gleanerjm.com