The financial regulator in South Africa has granted VALR, a cryptocurrency exchange, a licence. The announcement was made by the company on Monday.
The Pantera-backed VALR, which had a valuation of $240 million in March 2022, is one of the first cryptocurrency companies to receive approval from the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) of South Africa. Luno, an exchange platform, and Zignaly, a cryptocurrency social investment platform, both announced last week that they had been granted FSCA licences.
After the African nation enacted laws to broaden the regulator’s purview to include regulation of cryptocurrencies, the FSCA started accepting licence applications in 2023.
The Johannesburg-based company VALR announced that the FSCA has awarded them Category I and Category II licences to operate as a crypto asset service provider (CASP).
“Getting the CASP licence from the FSCA is a huge accomplishment for VALR,” VALR’s co-founder and CEO, Farzam Ehsani, stated in a press release. “We welcome this regulatory milestone for South Africa and applaud the regulators for taking this important step for the nation.”. More than a million cryptocurrency traders globally, according to VALR, are served by its more than 1000 corporate and institutional clients.