South Africa Cracks Down On Crypto Wild West: Exchanges Must Obtain Licenses

Key Points:

• South Africa will require crypto exchanges to be licensed by the end of the year.
• The Financial Sector Conduct Authority has received 20 license applications so far, with more expected.
• Failure to obtain a license may result in enforcement actions, such as closure or fines. South Africa aims to protect customers and regulate crypto products.

According to Bloomberg, South Africa will require crypto exchanges to get a license by the end of the year.

Since opening for licenses a few weeks ago, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority has received roughly 20 applications, with more anticipated before the Nov. 30 deadline, according to FSCA Commissioner Unathi Kamlana in an interview.

If the businesses continue to operate without a license beyond the deadline, the regulator intends to take “enforcement action,” which may include closing them down or fining them, according to Kamlana.

“There is potentially serious harm to financial customers when using crypto products, and therefore it makes sense for us to introduce the regulatory framework. Time will tell the effectiveness of our measures, and we will continue to work together with the industry to refine and make changes where and if necessary,” Kamlana added.

South Africa has been the setting for some of the world’s greatest crypto frauds in recent years, resulting in the loss of billions of dollars in assets. The continent’s most developed economy is the first to demand safe licensing for digital asset exchanges. South Africa is home to many of the continent’s largest trading platforms, including Luno, which is controlled by Barrry Silbert’s Digital Currency Group, and VALR, which is supported by Pantera. Other worldwide platforms, like Binance, are present in the nation and will need permits.

South Africa’s finance authority said last year that crypto platforms must be permitted to operate by 2023. To operate lawfully, cryptocurrency financial institutions in South Africa will need to apply for a license between June 1 and November 20, 2023.

Not only in South Africa, but European legislators have given their final approval to the EU’s Markets in Cryptoassets, or MiCA, bill, which would establish the block’s first laws for the crypto business, while Hong Kong introduced new regulations to license exchanges last month.

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Harold

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