Plume just picked up one of the more consequential regulatory stamps in the tokenization space. The blockchain network’s Bermuda subsidiary, Kimber Digital Assets Bermuda ISAC Ltd. (KDAB), secured a Class M Digital Asset Business Licence from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) on May 20, making KDAB the world’s first regulated onchain vault manager.
Plume can now legally create and distribute vault tokens tied to tokenized institutional assets, things like private credit, real estate, and commodities, all while operating under anti-money laundering and know-your-customer standards comparable to those governing stablecoins.
What the licence actually enables
The Class M designation is one of three licence types available under Bermuda’s Digital Asset Business Act, a framework that has been in place since 2018. The island jurisdiction already hosts major crypto firms including Circle and Coinbase.
Vault tokens represent fractional interests in pools of tokenized institutional assets — wrappers around real-world financial products that live onchain, giving investors exposure to assets that traditionally required a private banking relationship and a seven-figure minimum.
The licence requires KDAB to maintain AML and KYC standards throughout the entire lifecycle of these tokens, from issuance to distribution.
Plume also holds a US SEC transfer agent registration through Kimber Transfer Agency LLC, creating a dual-jurisdiction compliance framework covering two of the more significant regulatory environments for digital assets.
The bigger picture
Bermuda’s 2018 Digital Asset Business Act created a structured licensing regime before most countries had even started thinking about how to classify a token.
Plume Network launched its mainnet in June 2025 and has since accumulated over $350 million in distributed asset value across its financial protocols, including its Nest vault protocol.
What this means for investors
For institutional investors considering tokenized assets, Plume’s dual regulatory status — a BMA-licensed vault manager operating under AML/KYC standards, paired with a US SEC transfer agent registration — creates a compliance stack that risk committees can evaluate.
Being the “world’s first” in a regulated category means there’s no direct precedent for how regulators will handle edge cases, from token redemptions during market stress to cross-jurisdictional enforcement.