South Africa's financial regulator has issued licenses for cryptocurrency trading, with trading platform Luno and decentralized social investment marketplace Zignaly among the first to receive approvals.
Luno has announced that it has been accredited as a financial service provider under the country's Financial Brokerage and Advisory Services Act 2002. Luno PTY LTD now appears on the Financial Sector Regulatory Authority (FSCA) register of authorized entities.
Zignaly informed CoinDesk that it had obtained a voluntary Category 2 Financial Services Provider (FSP) license and appeared on the Financial Sector Regulatory Authority (FSCA) register as Merritt Administrators PTY LTD.
The South African regulator began accepting license applications from cryptocurrency companies in June 2023 after passing legislation to include cryptocurrencies within the scope of regulated financial activities in the country. The Financial Sector Regulatory Authority (FSCA) has warned of heavy fines being imposed on companies that attempt to operate without the correct approvals.
About 60 companies are expected to be approved by the regulator in the short term.
“This is a positive step for both the cryptocurrency sector and South Africans,” Christo de Wit, Luno’s South Africa director, said in a statement. “Compliance, safety and security for our customers have driven our growth from the beginning and will continue to be priorities as we expand our offerings to deliver more features and products to financial institutions.”
Zignaly's Class II license will allow the company to manage discretionary investment funds, “where Zignaly is authorized to make investment decisions on behalf of investors and, most importantly – may serve as custodian of funds for its clients,” the company said in a press release. “It is essentially a full asset management license, comparable to what is available from traditional finance giants such as BlackRock or Fan#bitcoin Guard.”