South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority on Monday expanded its approval, granting an additional 16 licenses, bringing the total number of licensed crypto companies to 75.
This decision followed the submission of 374 applications to the FSCA.
In March, South Africa’s financial conduct regulator greenlit 59 operating licenses for cryptocurrency businesses without disclosing the recipients’ identities, marking the country’s inaugural issuance of crypto licenses.
Notably, Luno and VALR, two prominent global cryptocurrency exchanges, emerged as recognizable entities on the approved list.
Luno’s license authorizes the provision of crypto advisory and intermediary services, while VALR’s permits advisory, intermediary, and investment management offerings.
However, Binance, a major player in the global cryptocurrency exchange arena, did not secure a spot on the list.
This development underscores South Africa’s growing acceptance of the crypto regulatory landscape. As the regulator gears up to greenlight more licenses, South Africa is poised to emerge as a leading proponent of cryptocurrencies on the continent.
Felicity Mabaso, the FSCA’s divisional executive for licensing, emphasized that entities engaging in crypto-related activities without obtaining licenses would face investigation and subsequent consequences.
Licensed entities will undergo continuous supervision post-licensing, while the FSCA will initiate investigations into unauthorized individuals offering crypto-related financial services.
The granted licenses encompass a spectrum of business models within the crypto space, including advisory services, exchanges, payment gateways, crypto-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat conversions, crypto asset arbitrage, tokenization, provision of index-based products, and wallet services.
