In an interview with TheStreet Roundtable's Jackson Hinkle, Ayanna Hull, head of BVI Private Wealth and Regulatory at Harneys , said that as the United States continues to refine its digital asset frameworks, agile jurisdictions such as Singapore and the British Virgin Islands (BVI) are demonstrating how clear, balanced regulation can attract innovation and investment.
"We have a lot of clients that are moving to the BVI from Europe because MICA is just not working in terms of regulations, very onerous," Hull said. "And we have a lot of our businesses coming from the US as well because of what you just identified. The US had basically turned a blind eye to crypto. I think the previous administration didn't want to touch it."
Related: Binance CEO Richard Teng says U.S. clarity is key as exchange eyes North America
Hull said the turning point came under the Trump administration. "Under the Trump administration, the GENIUS Act was enacted ," she said. "I think we saw Donald Trump Jr. here this week with World Liberty Financial and they are pushing the USD1 stablecoin."
Start with stablecoins
"I believe that that is probably the first thing that they should attack," Hull said. "The US has good security legislation. A lot of these securities legislation that are in the offshore jurisdictions look at the SEC and look at that legislation in order to make sure that we're doing it right."
She said stablecoins will likely come first because of pressure from large companies. "Once they've figured out stablecoin, it seems to be a priority for them because a lot of their big businesses like Amazon is creating a stablecoin ," Hull said. "And we understand why that would put a lot of pressure on Amex and Visa and MasterCard because then merchants and customers will be able to transact online without having to deal with those fees."
Related: America's oldest bank will now custody Ripple's stablecoin
Hull added that Singapore remains a model for small jurisdictions like the BVI. "Singapore has always been a jurisdiction when we look at what the BVI should be doing," she said. "It's a small island nation, just like the BVI. We look not only at it for financial services improvements, but just general tourism and how to embellish the beauty of a small island."
For Hull, the message was simple. The rest of the world is moving forward, and the United States cannot afford to fall behind.
This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Oct 22, 2025, where it first appeared in the Policy section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
