Cryptocurrency exchanges operating in South Africa have
until November 30 to register with the country’s financial regulator. Those who
will not comply with the directive risk facing enforcement actions, including
fines or business closure, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) said today
(Tuesday).
“There is potentially
serious harm to financial customers when using crypto products, and therefore
it makes sense for us to introduce the regulatory framework,” commented Unathi
Kamlana, FSCA Commissioner. “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.”
The exchanges that could be affected by the new directive in Africa’s most developed economy include Binance, Coinbase,
Kraken, and KuCoin, which are currently operating in the region. FSCA is
planning to curb an increase in fraudulent activities involving digital assets.
The South African
financial regulator could have been prompted to implement the stringent regulation following previously reported cases of fraud in the
sector. For instance, last year, a cryptocurrency exchange dubbed Africrypt
claimed it
had been hacked, and bitcoins worth $3.6 billion were missing.
The South African law
enforcement agencies later launched an investigation into the matter in what was believed to have been a case of fraud, according to a report by Bloomberg.
In a separate instance, the FCSA said in 2020 that
it was investigating Mirror Trading International (MTI), a cryptocurrency
trading network that
operated in South Africa. This was after the US Commodities and Futures Trading
Commission (CFTC) sued the platform and its founder in what it termed as ‘the largest
fraudulent scheme involving bitcoin’.
Curbing Crypto Risks
Due to such cases, the FSCA said it was working with the other financial sector regulators and the policymakers in the country to
regulate cryptocurrencies. According to the watchdog, the sector poses
significant risks to investors.
Similar moves have been
taken by the regulators in other regions, including in the UK, where a bill that classifies the trading of cryptocurrencies as a regulated
activity was recently approved
by King Charles III, FinanceMagnates reported.
The
legislation, which also brought stablecoins under the scope of payment rules, gave more powers to the regulators to supervise digital assets.
Following its adoption, the Bank of England, the Payments Systems Regulator,
and the FCA are expected to introduce new rules governing digital assets.
Cryptocurrency exchanges operating in South Africa have
until November 30 to register with the country’s financial regulator. Those who
will not comply with the directive risk facing enforcement actions, including
fines or business closure, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) said today
(Tuesday).
“There is potentially
serious harm to financial customers when using crypto products, and therefore
it makes sense for us to introduce the regulatory framework,” commented Unathi
Kamlana, FSCA Commissioner. “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.”
The exchanges that could be affected by the new directive in Africa’s most developed economy include Binance, Coinbase,
Kraken, and KuCoin, which are currently operating in the region. FSCA is
planning to curb an increase in fraudulent activities involving digital assets.
The South African
financial regulator could have been prompted to implement the stringent regulation following previously reported cases of fraud in the
sector. For instance, last year, a cryptocurrency exchange dubbed Africrypt
claimed it
had been hacked, and bitcoins worth $3.6 billion were missing.
The South African law
enforcement agencies later launched an investigation into the matter in what was believed to have been a case of fraud, according to a report by Bloomberg.
In a separate instance, the FCSA said in 2020 that
it was investigating Mirror Trading International (MTI), a cryptocurrency
trading network that
operated in South Africa. This was after the US Commodities and Futures Trading
Commission (CFTC) sued the platform and its founder in what it termed as ‘the largest
fraudulent scheme involving bitcoin’.
Curbing Crypto Risks
Due to such cases, the FSCA said it was working with the other financial sector regulators and the policymakers in the country to
regulate cryptocurrencies. According to the watchdog, the sector poses
significant risks to investors.
Similar moves have been
taken by the regulators in other regions, including in the UK, where a bill that classifies the trading of cryptocurrencies as a regulated
activity was recently approved
by King Charles III, FinanceMagnates reported.
The
legislation, which also brought stablecoins under the scope of payment rules, gave more powers to the regulators to supervise digital assets.
Following its adoption, the Bank of England, the Payments Systems Regulator,
and the FCA are expected to introduce new rules governing digital assets.
