Insider: South African elections won’t interfere with cryptocurrency policy

Members of the cryptocurrency community have stated that the South African general election scheduled for May 29th is not expected to disrupt the country's digital asset agenda. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) recently established a cryptocurrency licensing regime, making it one of the first African countries to do so. The regulatory agency is preparing to issue 60 licenses to cryptocurrency firms under this regime in the coming weeks, and has already issued licenses to cryptocurrency firms Luno, Zignaly, and VALR. The country will include cryptocurrency providers in its Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act in 2022 so that digital assets can be regulated as financial products. Maurice Crespi, a partner at South African law firm Xander Law Group, said that this marks a forward-looking approach to regulating the cryptocurrency industry, in line with global trends, and recognizes the growing importance of blockchain technology in modern finance.