Crypto policies won’t be affected by South African elections, insiders say

According to industry insiders, the upcoming South African elections on May 29 will not affect the nation’s cryptocurrency agenda.

According to Mpumelelo Ndamane, CEO of South Africa-based crypto wallet provider Nuud Money, the elections will steer clear of cryptocurrencies. 

“We’ve been pretty stable over the past 30 years when it comes to ensuring the [South African Reserve Bank] and FSCA are independent of politics. It won’t affect the crypto policy.” 

Meanwhile, according to John McCarthy, general counsel for global regulatory affairs at Fireblocks, most of the development around the digital asset sector in South Africa has been done to address problems that are “apolitical” in nature. As such, McCarthy voiced a similar opinion to that of Ndamane, pointing out that the apolitical nature of the issues has resulted in the approach being similar as well.

“It’s also been through an intergovernmental working body, much of which is inherently apolitical,” he added.

As reported earlier by crypto.news, the nation’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) is set to issue licenses to 60 digital asset platforms. The commission has set a deadline of November 30 for exchanges to apply.

The licensing framework, a significant step in the regulatory developments, was the result of the regulators including cryptocurrencies with the nation’s Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act in 2022. At the time of publication, the nation had already licensed three exchanges, namely, VALR, Luno, and Zignaly.

Maurice Crespi, a partner at South Africa-based law firm Schindlers Attorneys, considers this “a forward-thinking approach” in a bid to regulate the digital asset space. In a statement, Crespi noted that the move is in line with global trends and acknowledges the “growing significance” of blockchain tech in current-day finance, 

Previously, the South African Nation’s Treasury had also revealed that its Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group is exploring the impact of stablecoin use and tokenization in domestic financial markets. The group is set to report their findings to the government by December 2024.