Trinidad and Tobago’s parliament passed legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies and the firms that provide related services, according to local reports.
The vote, however, came after a chaotic debate in which opposition lawmakers said they were forced to argue over a bill that had been effectively rewritten moments before the sitting began.
The Virtual Assets and Virtual Assets Service Providers Bill, 2025, first tabled in September by Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo, sets out a framework for licensing and supervising virtual asset activities in the Caribbean nation.
The government has linked the measure to Trinidad and Tobago’s need to meet anti–money laundering and counter-terrorism financing standards ahead of a fifth round of mutual evaluation by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, including an on-site review scheduled for March 2026.
Proceedings broke down early when the opposition said it received a 48-page set of more than 200 amendments only minutes before debate resumed.
As Tancoo began citing the proposed changes, former finance minister Colm Imbert objected that the amendments had not yet been formally considered, urging Speaker Jagdeo Singh to prevent references to clauses not contained in the bill before the House.
The ruling left both sides unable to address the substance of the revisions until a later committee stage, prompting exchanges over whether the government had breached parliamentary process.
Imbert said the amendments fundamentally altered the structure and intent of the legislation and accused the government of disrespecting lawmakers by withholding them until the last minute.
Attorney General John Jeremie defended the approach, saying the revisions were the result of consultations involving the central bank, the securities regulator and industry participants, and that the government was moving quickly to comply with FATF recommendations while trying to limit disruption to legitimate operators.
Opposition MP Hans DesVignes said he supported regulation in principle but argued that the bill remained overly harsh and risked discouraging innovation.
Critics outside parliament have raised similar concerns, noting that the draft tightens oversight of exchanges, transfers, custody and other virtual asset services, with transitional restrictions before full authorisations are issued.
After the amendments were taken up in committee, the House passed the bill 25–11. The law now moves through remaining legislative steps before taking effect.
