South Africa seeks to tighten regulation of the circulation of digital currencies within three to six months, Kuben Naidoo, executive of the national banking regulator, Prudential Authority, told Bloomberg on Wednesday.
“We are trying to implement the regulatory framework quickly. Our view is that cryptocurrencies are a financial product and should be regulated as a financial product,” he pointed the official.
“We believe that cryptocurrencies are risky and we want to make sure that the financial sector is aware of those risks and prices those risks correctly,” Naidoo added.
The announcement comes after the owners of South African crypto exchange Africrypt, Ameer and Raees Cajee, disappeared with $ 3.6 billion in bitcoins that were owned by their users. The platform itself stopped working in April. Last year, collapse Another digital currency service, Mirror Trading International, which had 260,000 clients and 23,000 bitcoins, which is equivalent to about $ 770 million at the current rate. Both cases were the biggest cryptocurrency scams at the time.
It’s a statement disclosed In mid-June, the South African Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group (IFWG), which includes several South African regulators and financial institutions, declared that future changes will be made “in a phased and structured manner.”
According to the organization, the reform will focus on three areas: combating money laundering and terrorism, controlling cross-border financial flows and enforcing South Africa’s financial laws.
“Recent schemes highlighted in the media further emphasize the need for South African authorities, primarily through the FSCA, to take action against the growing trend of market abuse under the guise of crypto assets,” the IFGW noted.
