Luno, the South African-headquartered crypto platform, has responded positively to a new consultation paper from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).
The paper, titled Consultation Paper on Policy Proposals for Crypto Assets, aims to highlight the benefits and risks of the industry, reviews approaches by other industries and “presents recommendations for dealing with crypto assets from a South African perspective.”
While South African authorities at present have no intention of any ban on the sale, holding or making payments with cryptoassets, they do propose “limited regulation” going forward.
Responding to the new consultation, which is open to feedback until February 19th, Luno welcomed the paper, with Marius Reitz, Luno Country Manager, telling TechFinancials:
“We applaud the decision to implement the anti-money laundering / countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) that form part of the recent amendments to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations and that all virtual asset providers register with the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC),”
Adding that:
“This will help keep out fraudsters and other operators with low concern (or capabilities) to keep customer information and money safe.”
Reitz also believes that increased regulation will reassure customers that services they are dealing with meet proper standards and serves to bolster trust in the industry, explaining:
“Imposing regulations will, in turn, enhance general trust in and stability of the market. It may also result in even more talent and investment capital flowing into the industry, unlocking more business models and bringing more advanced products to market…It helps keep out fraudsters and other operators with low concern (or capabilities) to keep customer information and money safe.”
About Luno
Luno, based in South Africa, is one of the world’s most popular Bitcoin and crypto platforms, designed to make it easy for new customers to buy and learn about cryptoassets.
Founded in 2013 as BitX, the company officially was rebranded Luno in 2017 and now has offices in London, Singapore and Cape Town.
With it services available in over 40 countries worldwide, the startup has some high-profile backers including the Digital Currency Group (DCG) and Naspers, Africa’s largest internet and media group.
