Skip to content
Offshore Common Law

Crypto protocol teams launching a token, Cayman Islands

Cayman Foundation Companies act as ownerless issuers for L1/L2 protocols, with VASP (virtual asset service provider) registration available via CIMA. Used by most major DeFi DAOs and L2 rollups since 2020.

Foundation CompanyCIMA VASPDAO standard
Start setup {placement} 4 min · no card required
Corp tax
0%
Fastest setup
5 days
Region
Offshore

What you'll need

  • No resident director required
  • Local registered office required
  • Economic-substance test applies
  • Minimum capital: No minimum capital
  • Administrative language: English
  • Legal system: Common law

Tax and treaty profile

  • Corporate tax 0%
  • VAT rate 0%
  • Withholding on dividends 0%

Banking and payments

  • Banking takes 2 to 4 weeks with KYC
  • Stripe not supported
  • Mercury supported
  • Crypto banking available

Considerations

If you are running an operating company, not a fund

Stripe is unavailable, banking takes 90 days, and Economic Substance Law requires real CIGA in Cayman for relevant activities. For a SaaS or e commerce business, this is the wrong tool:

No StripeSubstance requiredBanking 90 days