South Africa’s financial markets regulator has approved cryptocurrencies as a financial product in the country.
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has set the legal grounds to bring the currency under regulatory scope, bringing crypto assets under purview for the first time in South Africa.
As stated in the FSCA’s Financial Advisory and Financial intermediary Services Act (FAIS), a crypto asset is a digital representation of value that is “not issued by a central bank but is capable of being traded, transferred or stored electronically by natural and legal persons,” and is for the purpose of “payment, investment and other forms of utility”.
Co-founder and CEO of South African cryptocurrency exchange VALR, Farzam Ehsani took to Twitter to share his approval of the declaration in a string of posts saying: “This is a historic moment and overall a positive step for the crypto industry and South Africa in general.
“This Declaration will open the door to many of the large traditional financial institutions (TradFi) [in South Africa] to start providing crypto products and services.”
Looking for your next crypto casino? Check out: Bitcasino, Gamb.co or FortuneJack.