According to TechFlow, on December 27, Cryptonews reported that the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) approved for the first time commercial banks and payment institutions to provide services related to Category 1 crypto assets, including stablecoins and secured cryptocurrencies, but still prohibited unsecured cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
The directive, issued on December 26 and announced on the 27th, aims to regulate the operation of digital currencies to cater to global financial trends. Institutions need to obtain approval from the NBC before they can conduct crypto-asset and fiat currency exchanges, inter-account transfers and custody services. Institutions are not allowed to use customers' crypto assets for their own purposes.
According to previous reports, earlier this month, Cambodia blocked 16 cryptocurrency exchange websites, including Binance, Coinbase, and OKX, as part of regulating the digital asset market. Despite the website access restrictions, the mobile applications of these platforms remain available.
Despite these measures, Cambodia still leads the world in per capita retail cryptocurrency usage, with centralized exchanges accounting for 70% of the country's crypto trading. Currently, only two companies have obtained licenses under the Securities and Exchange Regulator of Cambodia (SERC) 'Fintech Regulatory Sandbox' program, allowing the trading of digital assets, but prohibiting exchanges with the Cambodian riel or other fiat currencies.