Crypto Clash: Nevis Locals Push Back as Bitcoin Investor Olivier Janssens Drafts Island’s Digital Asset Legislation

An offshore financial haven finds itself at the center of a digital storm. Reports surface that a prominent Bitcoin investor, not a local legislator, is drafting the very laws meant to govern cryptocurrency on the Caribbean island of Nevis.

The Outsider's Blueprint

Olivier Janssens, a known figure in early Bitcoin circles, is reportedly authoring Nevis's crypto regulatory framework. The move bypasses traditional legislative channels, placing policy power directly in the hands of a private investor with clear skin in the game. It's a stark departure from the slow-moving parliamentary processes that define most jurisdictions.

Island Pushback

Local voices aren't staying quiet. Residents and some officials question the precedent of an external financier crafting binding law. The tension highlights a core conflict in crypto's march toward legitimacy: who gets to write the rules—the innovators, the regulators, or the communities directly impacted?

A New Model or a Red Flag?

Proponents argue this agile approach cuts through bureaucratic red tape, positioning Nevis as a nimble competitor to larger financial hubs. Critics see a dangerous delegation of sovereign authority, a potential blueprint for regulatory capture where the rulebook is written by those it's meant to regulate—a concept Wall Street banks have spent decades perfecting, just with fancier offices.

The Nevis situation isn't just local news; it's a live-fire test for decentralized governance meeting real-world policy. The island's choice could either become a template for tech-forward legislation or a cautionary tale about letting the foxes design the henhouse.

Nevis law got passed after Destiny helped write it

In the summer of 2025, the government of St Kitts and Nevis passed something called the Special Sustainability Zones Authorisation Act, or SSZAA. It lets private developers cut deals with the government to create their own zones. A source involved said Destiny was mostly responsible for writing the law.

Dawn De Coteau, who handles legal issues for Destiny, later posted on LinkedIn, saying, “I’m proud to be a member of the legal team, contributing to the creation of this model.” She also said it took years of back-and-forth to get all sides to agree.

Dawn is licensed in both England and the Caribbean. Neither Olivier nor anyone from Destiny answered questions about it, and the Nevis government said nothing either.

People on the island have been suspicious for a while. They thought Destiny had written the law, and now they feel like that’s been confirmed.

James Gaskell, who used to own the Montpelier Hotel, wrote that the law “could very well have been drafted for this libertarian group.”

Locals raise alarms over power, land and control

In December, the local bar association passed a resolution saying they had big concerns about how the law was written.

Kurlyn Merchant, the association’s president, pointed out that the law clearly says the government handles things like the military and foreign affairs. But it doesn’t say anything about who handles immigration, labor, or the police. That gap could mean developers like Olivier get real power over how people live and work.

The association said the law needed a full rewrite to protect democracy. Kelvin Daly from the opposition party said when attorney general Garth Wilkin got asked who wrote the law, he dodged the question.

Destiny is part of a bigger pattern. Tech and crypto investors have been trying to build places where they control the rules. They call it the “network state” idea. Olivier is now tied to one of the biggest experiments in that space.

Nevis premier Mark Brantley told reporters in January that the agreement with Destiny had already been sent to the federal government for signoff.

“We have signalled to the prime minister that we are comfortable with what has been proposed,” he said. But some critics pointed out that Brantley’s wife, Sharon, is the real estate agent helping Olivier buy the land.

There’s also a line in the law that lets developers set up their own systems for handling disputes. Some locals are scared Destiny could turn into its own private country. Olivier has denied that. He said Destiny will be open to all and still under the government’s power.

Still, people are nervous. They say Destiny might eat up local water and electricity. They’re also worried that longtime residents are being pushed out as land gets bought up. Some think Destiny might even end up separated from the rest of Nevis.

The whole project is being designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. They’re known for fancy buildings like 7 World Trade Center in New York and the Broadgate Tower in London. Olivier told the New York Post that homes in Destiny will cost between $500,000 and $3 million.

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