FSCA Declares Crypto-assets As Financial Products Under FAIS

Crypto assets have been on the radar of the South African Regulators for quite some time.

"Our view has changed and we now do regard [cryptocurrency] as a financial asset and we hope to regulate it as a financial asset," said South African Reserve Bank ("SARB") deputy governor Kuben Naidoo on 13 July 2022 during a webinar.

Three changes were proposed, namely:

• an amendment to the Exchange Control Regulations to clarify the position on crypto-assets as capital within the purview of those regulations;
• the inclusion of cryptos as a financial product for purposes of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 2002 ("FAIS"); and
• the inclusion of all crypto asset service providers as "accountable institutions" in terms of Schedule 1 to the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001 ("FICA").