In February 2022, the South African National Treasury confirmed the intent of declaring cryptocurrency as a financial product to enhance the monitoring and compliance of transactions of crypto. In a notice shared by the financial sector conduct authority (FSCA) under the financial advisory and intermediary services act, 2022, South Africa’s financial regulator declares bitcoin as a financial product in South Africa effective from Wednesday, 19th October 2022.
Under the financial advisory and intermediary service (FAIS), a financial product is defined as any money-making instrument or an instrument conferring rights to securities and instruments. It can be offered by financial service providers, whether they are domestic or international firms licensed in South Africa. The notice went into the government gazette of record, and the FSCA website defines bitcoin and another crypto as a digital representation of value.
South Africa ranks 30th in Worldwide cryptocurrency adoption, with an estimate of about 10-13% of its population as crypto holders.
This is a guest post by Millicent. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Satoshi’s Journal or Satoshi’s Entertainment Company.