{"id":4610,"date":"2022-11-29T05:43:53","date_gmt":"2022-11-29T04:43:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ancstockinvestments.com\/blog\/?p=4610"},"modified":"2022-11-29T05:48:19","modified_gmt":"2022-11-29T04:48:19","slug":"ftxs-collapse-coincides-with-more-crypto-regulation-in-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ancstockinvestments.com\/blog\/2022\/11\/29\/ftxs-collapse-coincides-with-more-crypto-regulation-in-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"FTX\u2019s Collapse Coincides with More Crypto Regulation in Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Until it collapsed this month, FTX was becoming a force for normalizing cryptocurrencies in Africa, through marketing campaigns<\/a> that enlisted entertainers, and investments in startups like Chipper Cash<\/a>. Now that it has left a trail of losses for companies and individuals, Africa\u2019s financial regulators will sense an opportunity to place stricter constraints on crypto\u2019s adoption.<\/p>\n

Some form of crypto regulation already exists in two-thirds of sub-Saharan countries, according to an IMF internal survey<\/a>. Cameroon, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and the Republic of Congo have outright bans on crypto, while partial restrictions are in place in Zimbabwe and Liberia.<\/p>\n

Last month, South Africa said every crypto platform must get a license to operate, beginning in July 2023. A 20% tax on crypto transactions is making its way through parliament in Kenya<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nigeria, Africa\u2019s top crypto market, is regulating too<\/h2>\n

Nigeria hasn\u2019t banned crypto outright, although the central bank forbids banks from processing crypto transactions. In May, Nigeria\u2019s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered exchanges to register to obtain a permit to operate.<\/p>\n

Following the fall of FTX, exchanges could now find themselves under renewed pressures. As of September, three crypto companies had filed to obtain the Nigerian SEC\u2019s operation permit, according to an employee at one of the companies who declined to be named. Since FTX\u2019s collapse, the SEC has cautioned the companies that they may have to supply still more information, the person said.<\/p>\n

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) supersedes the SEC in controlling the financial sector, so its moves are of more interest to crypto companies. But the CBN has been preoccupied by a dollar scarcity that has weakened the naira, leading to the launch of three new currency notes today by president Muhammadu Buhari as a way to fight inflation<\/a>.<\/p>\n