Namibia signs crypto exchange regulation bill into law
The Namibian Government officially signed a law to regulate Virtual Asset Service Providers operating in the country last week, reversing its original 2017 decision to ban cryptocurrency exchanges.
On July 21, the VASP-regulating law was inserted into the Gazette of the Republic of Namibia after previously being approved in Namibia’s National Assembly on July 6 and signed by President Hage Geingob on July 14.
The bill called the Namibia Virtual Assets Act 2023 aims to assign a regulatory authority to supervise crypto exchanges in the country. It is the first law laying out how the country should regulate cryptocurrency-related activities.
It will enter into force at a date determined by Namibia’s Ministry of Finance.
Among the top aims of the law is to ensure consumer protection, prevent market abuse and mitigate the risks of money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Non-compliant providers could reportedly face penalties of up to $671,000 (10 million Namibian dollars) and 10 years in prison. The country’s central bank, the Bank of Namibia, maintains its position that cryptocurrencies will not hold legal tender status in the country.
Namibia’s legal U-turn started in May 2018 when the Bank of Namibia revised its original decision to ban cryptocurrency exchanges.
Related: Crypto exchange Roqqu receives South African approval to expand operations
Earlier this month, South Africa’s financial regulator announced that all cryptocurrency exchanges in the country will be required to obtain licenses by the end of 2023 in order to continue operations.
Other African nations that have passed cryptocurrency laws include Botswana, Kenya, Mauritius and Seychelles. The Central African Republic made Bitcoin (BTC) legal tender in April 2022, however, that legislation was repealed less than 12 months later.
Cameroon, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Liberia, Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Zimbabwe are among the African countries to have enforced a ban on cryptocurrencies according to the International Monetary Fund.
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The bromance between Sir Keir Starmer and President Macron is so apparent – embraces all around.
This is some deft diplomacy from Sir Keir, who has been love-bombing his French counterpart ever since he became prime minister – trying to get closer ties, be it on security, on trade, and now of course on small boats.
And he has got a win today – he’s got President Macron to agree a deterrent deal.
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You remember the Conservatives were trying the Rwanda plan to deter people from coming by sending them back to Rwanda, a third country, if they came here illegally.
What the prime minister has agreed with President Macron today is a big deal. It’s a one in, one out deal.
What they’re going to do is, if someone arrives here illegally, they will be sent back to France, and in return, the UK will accept a legitimate asylum seeker. It might be someone who has family ties.
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It’s going to start off really small – think of it as a pilot – as they’re going to test it out, see if it works.
It might be just a handful of people being sent back, maybe just under a thousand or so by the end of the year. But they will hopefully, for the prime minister, scale it up and it could become a real deterrent.
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I’ll leave you with just one more thought: As Prime Minister Starmer and President Macron were doing this deal today, Nigel Farage was in the English Channel documenting illegal migrants making that crossing – 79 people being picked up by Border Force, taken off a dinghy and into Dover.
Polling out this morning by Portland suggests four in 10 voters who are planning on going to Reform would go back to Labour if the prime minister tackles small boats and drives down the crossings.
There is a real political imperative for him to try to start to resolve this problem. It’s going to count at the ballot box – immigration is a top-three issue in this country when it comes to voters.
The hearing notice suggested a focus on a tax framework for digital assets, but did not mention specific witnesses or policies previously proposed.
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