In 2018 the Central Bank has informed (6) “that any person who wishes to promote Cryptocurrency or Digital currency is considered under the Money Laundering Prevention Amendment Act 2018 as a Financial Institution. This means it must have a valid business license issued in Samoa and is required to follow the Central Bank’s reporting requirements for Financial Institutions”.
That’s why may be in some cases crypto entities can legally operated in the country, if they have a Financial Institution license. Please, contact with us if you have such information. The legality of crypto operations in the country depends on the interpretation of local regulators’ press release.
In general, it seems that there is still no transparent crypto regulation in the country, as in many island countries. At the same time, according to Benar News (7), the local government supports the implementation of such projects as Samoa Digital Asset Exchange and Oceania Blockchain Special Economic Zone presented in Hong Kong. In June 2023 local government has published an official press release (8) about this projects - that they still don’t have official approval.
Perhaps the situation in Samoa is influenced by geopolitical tensions - the struggle for influence in Oceania between Australia, the US, and China. It is likely that cooperation on digital assets with Hong Kong may be perceived negatively by Samoa's neighbors. In addition, the lack of crypto regulation in Samoa may be influenced by the position of the IMF (9) and other international organizations with which Samoa cooperates in the fintech sector.
