By Lerato Lamola, Partner at Webber Wentzel
As of June 2024, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority FSCA has issued 138 crypto asset service provider CASP licences. The discussion about the crypto industry now moves from whether crypto assets should be regulated to more detailed topics around 'What should be regulated?' and 'How should it be regulated?'
There are currently two pieces of legislation in relation to crypto assets that require some form of registration or approval. On the one hand, you have CASP financial service provider licences issued by the FSCA in terms of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act. On the other hand, you have the Financial Intelligence Centre FIC requiring registration of CASPs deemed accountable under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act.
South Africa has decided it wants to regulate crypto assets so the regulatory discussion now progresses to other areas that require clarity. One of the emerging discussions is whether all tokens crypto assets should be regulated in the same manner.
In the crypto community, people talk about coins and tokens. Coins are understood to be digital currency while tokens are digital assets, with various uses, developed or issued for a particular project. At a high level, you either come across fungible or non-fungible tokens in the digital asset market. Fungible tokens are identical and interchangeable while non-fungible tokens represent unique items on a blockchain. However, to determine the type of token you are dealing with, it is crucial to know what the holder of a particular token is entitled to?
