South African Regulator Expects to Determine Fate of 50 Crypto License Applicati

[sirty143]

South African Regulator Expects to Determine Fate of 50 Crypto License Applications in 'Coming Weeks'

The head of enforcement at South Africa’s financial industry watchdog said on Jan. 24 that he expects the organization to decide the fate of 50 crypto firms’ license applicants in the coming weeks... See more for yourself here.

Your opinion is greatly appreciated.

[TomPluz]

I understand that there is a big and growing market for cryptocurrency in South Africa and this country can be the door for the whole African continent which many considered to be the new frontier and a good ground for the crypto industry. Though I am not so familiar with South Africa and the ins and outs of their market, I heard many positive things about it, hence we can see some good number of applications to do a legal crypto business in the country. Of course, under a regulated environment a crypto entity has to make sure it is following the laws imposed on it, otherwise there can be some problem. I am hoping that those who can eventually get the approvals will be using this opportunity to strengthen themselves and show to the world they got the right to be there, in the first place. The time has come that people of South Africa will deal only with approved and regulated platforms so they can avoid to be victims of scams and frauds which I sense can be common in many African nations. Good luck!

[robelneo]

The head of enforcement at South Africa’s financial industry watchdog said on Jan. 24 that he expects the organization to decide the fate of 50 crypto firms’ license applicants in the coming weeks... See more for yourself here.

South Africa is a major player in this industry but the requirement is too strict that some of the applicants have already withdrawn, compliant is not easy because they have to prove that the firms are up to the standard set by the government and they are capable to pay the cost of obtaining a license, the government should ease up with the cost of getting a license since after their approval they will be under the taxation and this is another revenue for the government.
Based on the article

Some eventually opted to operate outside the South African market.

which will likely happen if they rejected many applicants.

[Faisal2202]

The title says FSCA is going to determine the fate of 50 while around 105 companies applied for approval out of which 20 withdrew their requests and after that, they just focused on the importance of how these 20 withdrew their applications, the intent of the news indicating as they are only want to let other people know we are making rules hard for scammers and newbies that they left no other choice but to withdraw their applications.

However, that's a good thing for FSCA because if the rules were soft, then every newbie and unqualified person would file an application and in the end, they would make a bad name for the whole country as well they would also lower the standard of FSCA. Plus it will also weaken the trust of foreign investors as well. That's why FSCA is a good thing and I like there efforts I hope our country would also think about that.

[Z-tight]

I know that a lot of these firms applications would be approved by the FSCA, crypto is now very popular in so many countries around the world, and even if the government don't want to support it, they can benefit from it through taxation, that is why most of them do not ban crypto, but rather set regulatory guidelines and firms that wish to operate in that jurisdiction must comply.

We may not like regulations, but that is the only way crypto firms can operate and offer their services to people. To an extent it also protects customers from fraudulent crypto firms

[hugeblack]

The number of applications is large, but South Africa is considered the gateway to Africa, and it is natural to see that cryptocurrency companies will be interested in obtaining licenses there.
But I do not know whether the regulatory restrictions in Africa are strict or whether it is legislation for tax purposes. In general, we will wait and see the results.

[Asiska02]

It is really appeasing seeing the number of crypto firms applying to be licensed in South Africa. If about 50% of them are granted the license to operate, it will serve as a gateway for more African countries to embrace crypto and extend the services of those firms to their own countries too. With the rising in numbers of crypto users worldwide, it is possible to see a significant number again through this licensing. In few weeks time, we will know the outcome of this and get to know if South Africa will become the heart of crypto in Africa.

[trendcoin]

I see the African continent as the leading player in the development of mass adoption of cryptocurrencies. There are valuable places there that have not yet been overrun by banks. People who meet cryptocurrencies instead of banks can contribute more to the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies. That's why news like this always pleases me. Of course, when governments do something new with cryptocurrencies, it's usually for tax purposes, but events like this indirectly serve the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies.

[Uruhara]

The development of the crypto community in several countries in Africa is very rapid. This is the same as what happened in my country. So I am optimistic that the government there will also implement regulations that are wise and friendly for crypto. But because there are so many countries in Africa, of course each country there will have slightly different regulations from one another. But since what you are discussing is South Africa then I think it will be better there. Because South Africa is also one of the countries where people are becoming more familiar with cryptocurrencies, regulations there will definitely continue to be friendlier but also stricter.

[yhiaali3]

Meanwhile, when asked about the changes to regulations proposed by the FSCA, Deventer said tackling scammers who purposely choose to operate outside its regulatory ambit is what motivated it to make the amendments. According to Deventer, once the new regulations kick in it will now be impossible for such entities to avoid regulation of their activities.

It is clear from the quote that there are companies evading South African regulations, and this required the Financial Conduct Authority (FSCA) to make some changes to address fraudsters who deliberately chose to operate outside its regulatory scope.

It seems that there are some strict regulations that make companies fail to obtain approval, which makes them operate illegally. If the government wants to make these companies operate under its regulatory frameworks, it must work to amend the laws to become more flexible and provide a suitable work environment for companies.