Nauru Establishes Dedicated Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority Through Legislation

The Pacific island nation of Nauru has enacted legislation to establish a dedicated virtual asset regulatory authority, covering the fields of cryptocurrency, digital banking, and Web3 innovation, with the aim of becoming a cryptocurrency hub. The bill establishes the "Command Ridge Virtual Asset Authority" (CRVAA), which is responsible for overseeing the registration and licensing of cryptocurrency businesses. According to the bill, cryptocurrencies are defined as commodities rather than securities, and payment tokens are excluded from investment contracts. The CRVAA will regulate the operation of cryptocurrency exchanges, initial token offerings, non-fungible tokens, lending, staking, yield farming, and other decentralized financial services, as well as stablecoin issuance, cross-border payment solutions, and digital banking.