LunoSouth African cryptocurrency service provider, has secured license from South African Financial Services Conduct Authority (FSCA) to operate as a financial services provider.
Details
Luno is the first dedicated crypto service provider in South Africa to receive a financial services license. This follows the FSCA’s declaration of crypto assets as a financial product under the Financial Advice and Intermediation Services Act, 2002 (FAIS).
What they say
“As a domestic pioneer with more than ten years of experience in the crypto market, Luno is excited to be the first licensed crypto service provider in the country. ” Christo de Witsaid Luno’s country manager for South Africa.
“This is a positive step for both the cryptocurrency industry and South Africans. Compliance, safety and security for our customers have driven our growth since the beginning and will continue to be priorities as we expand our offering to introduce more features and products for financial institutions,” he added.
Because this matters
As a regulated financial product, crypto assets will more likely form part of investment portfolios. In doing so, the regulation paved a way for greater adoption of crypto assets in the mainstream financial system.
Zoom out
South Africa’s FSCA reported in March that the first 59 licenses were almost ready to be granted, which would give these companies the right to operate as crypto financial service providers. About 262 applications were pending at the time.
Crypto assets were declared financial products under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 2002 (FAIS) by the FSCA in 2023.
The licensing will see traditional institutions that are already licensed financial services providers able to include exposure to crypto assets in their offerings by adding the crypto asset class to their existing licenses.
Licensed banks and asset managers can also introduce crypto assets to their very large client bases, and financial advisors can advise their clients on responsible crypto asset investment.
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