South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has licensed 75 institutions as crypto asset service providers (CASPs).
Some of the licensees include South African crypto exchanges like Luno, VALR, and Altcoin Trader.
Zoom Out
The FSCA began the process of licencing CASPs on 1 June 2023. South Africa has not yet opted to pave a new regime for crypto assets but instead plans to regulate the sector under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act.
Between The Lines
The FSCA stated that it does not regard any crypto asset as currency.
It said crypto assets are defined as a digital representation of value with the following characteristics:
- Not issued by a central bank
- Can be traded, transferred or stored electronically by natural and legal persons for payment, investment, and other forms of utility
- Applies cryptographic techniques
- Uses distributed ledger technology
What They’re Saying
“The public is reminded that the FSCA’s licensing powers are limited to the authorisation and supervision of CASPs only insofar as they render financial services related to crypto assets,” the FSCA said.
“This authorisation does not include the recognition of crypto assets as legal tender or ‘cryptocurrency,’” it stated.
Source: My Broadband ZA
Full list of approved companies
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