Call for comment: Consultation Paper on Policy Proposals for Crypto Assets
The South African Financial Intelligence Centre, Financial Sector Conduct Authority, National Treasury, South African Revenue Service and the South African Reserve Bank are calling for comment on the Consultation Paper on Policy Proposals for Crypto Assets (the Consultation Paper).
Crypto assets – commonly referred to as ‘crypto currencies’ – are digital representations or tokens that are accessed, verified, transacted and traded electronically by a community of users. The Consultation Paper focuses on two crypto use cases: buying and selling crypto assets; and making payments with crypto assets. Moreover, the Consultation Paper highlights the benefits and risks of the related activities, reviews the approaches by other jurisdictions, and presents recommendations for dealing with crypto assets from a South African perspective.
As set out in the Consultation Paper, the need to develop a policy and regulatory response to crypto asset activities in South Africa is driven by the following:
- Crypto assets are a form of innovation that may impact the financial sector of the country.
- Crypto assets do not fit neatly within the current regulatory framework.
- Crypto assets may create conditions for regulatory arbitrage while posing risks.
- There is growing interest, investment and participation in crypto assets.
The deadline for submissions is 15 February 2019, and should be emailed to [email protected]. As noted in the call for comment, input received will feed into a crypto assets policy paper that will set out the manner in which crypto assets will be managed within the regulatory perimeter in South Africa.
The call for comment is accessible here.
The Consultation Paper is accessible here.
Please note: The information contained in this note is for general guidance on matters of interest, and does not constitute legal advice. For any enquiries, please contact us at [email protected].