Part III VASP Licence Decision Tree

"person" includes –

(a) an individual,

(b) a company,

(c) any other legal person, and

(d) an unincorporated body

"Bailiwick" means the Bailiwick of Guernsey

"Bailiwick body" means –

(a) a Guernsey body, being –

(i) a Guernsey company,

(ii) any other legal person registered, constituted or incorporated in Guernsey (including for the avoidance of doubt a Guernsey limited liability partnership, a Guernsey limited partnership with legal personality and a Guernsey foundation), or

(iii) an unincorporated body whose principal place of business is in Guernsey,

(b) an Alderney body, being –

(i) an Alderney company, or

(ii) an unincorporated body whose principal place of business is in Alderney,

(c) a Sark body, being any body, other than one mentioned in paragraph (a)(i) or (ii) or (b)(i), whose principal place of business is in Sark.

For the purposes of the LCF Law a person who provides any service or carries on any activity shall (unless the Commission, conditionally or unconditionally, directs otherwise in any particular case or, after consultation with the States of Guernsey Policy and Resources Committee, in any particular class or description of cases) be deemed to do so "by way of business" if that person receives any income, fee, emolument or other consideration in money or money's worth for doing so.

In the LCF Law, "virtual assets" means a digital representation of value that can be digitally traded, or transferred, and can be used for payment or investment purposes, but virtual assets do not include digital representations of –

(a) fiat currencies, or

(b) general securities and derivatives within the meaning of category 2 in Schedule 1 to the Protection of Investors (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020 and other financial assets.

In the LCF Law, "safe-keeping and/or administration" includes providing or facilitating the control of virtual assets or governing their use (including, without limitation and by way of example, the holding and/or keeping of virtual assets by custodial wallet service providers).

Section 21 of the LCF Law provides as follows:

(1) Without prejudice to the provisions of section 20, sections 16 and 17 do not apply in relation to persons, business, services or transactions of a class or description specified for the purposes of the LCF Law by regulations of the States of Guernsey Policy and Resources Committee

There are currently no such regulations in place.

Under the notice, the requirement to hold a VASP licence in accordance with Part III of the LCF Law is disapplied and the following do not require a licence under Part III of the LCF Law:

I. Persons who make investments, hold, or trade, in virtual assets for their own benefit. Note that this disapplication will not apply to persons, or persons within groups, offering products or services related to virtual assets.

II. Licensees, who hold a licence under the Regulation of Fiduciaries Administration Businesses and Company Directors, etc (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020, in the course of providing administration or management services, as services offered under that licence, to VASPs which either hold a Part III VASP licence issued under the LCF Law or are exempt under (I).

III. Licensees, who hold a licence under the Protection of Investors (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020, in the course of providing administration or management services, as services offered under that licence, to VASPs which either hold a Part III VASP licence issued under the LCF Law or are exempt under (I).

IV. Licensees, who hold a licence under the Insurance Managers and Insurance Intermediaries (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2002, in the course of providing administration or management services, as services offered under that licence, to VASPs which either hold a Part III VASP licence issued under the LCF Law or are exempt under (I).

V. Authorised or Registered Collective Investment Schemes investing, holding, or trading in virtual assets