How each jurisdiction
treats DAOs.

The British Virgin Islands is a strong conventional offshore company and funds jurisdiction, but it is not a DAO-native jurisdiction. A BVI wrapper must be built from ordinary company, partnership, fund, VASP, AML, tax, and sanctions law.

Regulator:

BVI Financial Services Commission (FSC)

Key statutes:

8 instruments

As of:

2026-06-29

A Cayman foundation company is a statutory company wrapper, not a DAO-specific legal form. It is incorporated under the Companies Act and becomes a foundation company only after the Registrar declares it to be one under the Foundation Companies Act.

Regulator:

Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA)

Key statutes:

7 instruments

As of:

2026-06-29

Estonia is not a DAO-native entity jurisdiction. Estonian private legal persons must be founded under the statute governing the relevant legal-person type, which means a DAO must be mapped into an existing form such as an OÜ, non-profit association, or foundation.

Regulator:

Finantsinspektsioon (Estonian Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority)

Key statutes:

10 instruments

As of:

2026-06-30

Liechtenstein is a strong token-law jurisdiction but not a DAO-native entity-law jurisdiction. The Token and TT Service Provider Act gives a civil-law framework for tokens and tokenized rights, but private-law legal persons exist only in legally provided forms under the Persons and Companies Act.

Regulator:

FMA (Finanzmarktaufsicht Liechtenstein)

Key statutes:

7 instruments

As of:

2026-06-29

Panama is not a DAO-native jurisdiction. The realistic Panama wrappers are ordinary legal structures: principally the private interest foundation, the corporation, and, in narrower cases, trust or association structures.

Regulator:

Superintendencia del Mercado de Valores (SMV)

Key statutes:

8 instruments

As of:

2026-06-30

Under RMI law, a DAO LLC is a statutory legal wrapper, not merely a contractual label. The RMI DAO Act defines a DAO as a resident domestic limited liability company organized under the DAO Act, with LLC legal personality and the LLC Act's limited-liability rule.

Regulator:

Registrar of Corporations (RMI)

Key statutes:

7 instruments

As of:

2026-06-29

Seychelles is not a DAO-native jurisdiction. It offers conventional offshore forms — the International Business Company, foundation, limited partnership, and domestic company — but none gives statutory token-based membership, algorithmic management, or automatic smart-contract governance.

Regulator:

Financial Services Authority Seychelles (FSA)

Key statutes:

8 instruments

As of:

2026-06-30

Singapore has no DAO-specific statutory wrapper. The realistic Singapore wrappers are a company limited by guarantee for nonprofit stewardship, a private company or LLP for operating functions, and, in narrower cases, a registered society or charity.

Regulator:

Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)

Key statutes:

9 instruments

As of:

2026-06-29

Switzerland has no DAO-specific entity. The Swiss foundation (Stiftung) is the established protocol-stewardship vehicle — credible but board-mediated with public supervision. The Swiss association (Verein) fits member-based nonprofit governance. FINMA classifies tokens by substance (payment/utility/asset/hybrid); no statutory governance-token carve-out.

Regulator:

FINMA & Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations

Key statutes:

7 instruments

As of:

2026-06-29

The UAE is not one DAO jurisdiction: ADGM's DLT Foundation regime (Council-mediated, tokenholder-aware) sits inside a common-law financial free zone under FSRA, while Innovation City (formerly RAK DAO) has DAO Association Regulations creating a nonprofit body corporate with Registrar oversight.

Regulator:

ADGM Registration Authority & Innovation City Authority

Key statutes:

8 instruments

As of:

2026-06-29

Wyoming's DUNA Act creates a statutory unincorporated nonprofit association wrapper with legal personality, on-chain governance recognition, and a member liability shield — but the DUNA does not carve tokens out of federal securities, CFTC, FinCEN, tax, or OFAC analysis.

Regulator:

Wyoming Secretary of State

Key statutes:

7 instruments

As of:

2026-06-29