South Africa to impose crypto exchange licenses by the end of the year: report

South Africa would be the first country on the continent to require secure licenses for digital asset trading.

South Africa's financial regulator has announced that all crypto exchanges in the country will need to obtain licenses by the end of the year, according to a Bloomberg report.

Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) Commissioner Unathi Kamlana said the FSCA has received about 20 license applications since it recently opened, and expects more before the 30 November, Bloomberg reported.

Kamlana further mentioned that if crypto exchanges continue to operate without a license after the deadline, the regulator intends to take “enforcement action,” which may involve fines or the closure of unlicensed businesses. compliant, according to the report.

The report quotes Kamlana as saying that introducing a regulatory framework for crypto products is a sensible approach due to the potential risk of serious harm to financial customers. According to Bloomberg, he expressed the need for time to determine the effectiveness of their measures and ensured continued collaboration with the industry to refine and implement the necessary changes.

The move means South Africa becomes the first country on the continent to require digital asset exchanges to secure licenses as crypto regulators and policymakers around the world continue to tighten the regulatory belt around cryptocurrency.

The move affects several major trading platforms originating in South Africa, including Digital Currency Group-owned Luno and Pantera-backed VALR. Global platforms such as Binance that operate in the country will also need to obtain licenses.

The FSCA has been involved in crypto and fintech regulation, working with an “Intergovernmental Fintech Task Force” made up of key regulators and policy makers in the financial sector, including the National Treasury and the Bank of South African reserve.

The trend towards increased regulation is not limited to South Africa alone. On July 3, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced that crypto service providers in Singapore were