Key Takeaways:
Plume's Bermuda-based subsidiary secured a Class M Digital Asset Business Licence to operate what it calls the world's first regulated onchain vault, merging decentralized finance with prudential oversight from the Bermuda Monetary Authority.
"The BMA licence makes this real. It means this is not an experiment. It is a regulated financial product, supervised by a regulator that has been overseeing global financial services since 1969, operating on infrastructure that is more transparent and more auditable than anything that exists in traditional finance," Chris Yin, cofounder and chief executive officer of Plume, said.
The subsidiary, Kimber Digital Assets Bermuda ISAC Ltd, received the licence under the Digital Asset Business Act 2018. The regulated onchain vaults allow users to deposit assets, receive proportional shares, earn yield and redeem at net asset value — all executed through immutable smart contracts rather than traditional administrators or custodians. Assets will be sourced from regulated funds in the US, Hong Kong and other major jurisdictions, the company said.
The structure mirrors the exchange-traded fund model that democratized investing for anyone with a brokerage account, Yin said. Plume now aims to extend that access to users without one — a lawyer in Lagos, a freelancer in Manila or a small-business owner in Sao Paulo — who can access the yield with a smartphone and a stablecoin. The company joins a group of globally recognized firms including Circle, Coinbase and Kraken that have selected Bermuda's DABA framework as their regulatory home.
Salman Banaei, Plume's general counsel, described the framework the BMA applied for KDAB — covering asset-liability management, cybersecurity and anti-money laundering — as an important milestone in the developing global onchain capital markets. "Most importantly, the BMA has adopted the latest technologies to deliver a regulatory outcome that is in parity — or in many instances exceeds — the goals of its policy mandates," Banaei said.
Teddy Pornprinya, Plume cofounder and chief business officer, said the regulatory alignment would allow the firm to distribute high-quality assets to a broad audience globally, removing high barriers to entry. "We are ensuring that removing the walled gardens of traditional finance will still ensure the highest level of safety and compliance," Pornprinya said.
The Bermuda licence positions Plume among a small group of crypto firms operating under a full regulatory framework in the jurisdiction, alongside stablecoin issuer Circle, exchange Coinbase and custody provider Kraken. The BMA has been regulating financial services since 1969 and is considered one of the more established offshore financial regulators.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
