Pan-African Crypto Platform Yellow Card Wins Major Regulatory Approval
- Pan-African crypto exchange Yellow Card has won the license from the Non-Bank Financial Institution Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA) of Botswana to operate in the country.
- The crypto platform complies with global AML, Sanctions as well as the FATF Travel Rule requirements and KYC of all customers across all jurisdictions.
- The Virtual Assets Bill of Botswana was unanimously approved in February and the new rules required every crypto firm looking to operate in the country to appy for a license with the NBFIRA
Popular pan-African crypto exchange Yellow Card has been greenlit as a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license by the Non-Bank Financial Institution Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA) of Botswana, as per an announcement last week. Being one of the biggest exchanges around the globe, the goal of the firm following the license is to continue its expansion in the continent and bring a wave of financial independence as well.
The license issued by NBFIRA on Sept. 29 is a monumental moment for the crypto platform but was announced only a few days earlier. Yellow Card was given the license as it complies with global AML, Sanctions as well as the FATF Travel Rule requirements and KYC of all customers across all jurisdictions and therefore, it can now engage in crypto-related activities in the region.
“This opens up greater channels of expansion with regards to payment partners, banking and expanding our client base across Africa. This will further show regulators in other markets that we are not just any other cryptocurrency company – we are pioneering, pushing boundaries and setting the standard. All the more reason for them to work together with us as well,”
Chris Maurice, CEO and co-founder of Yellow Card said.
Furthermore, according to the announcement, Yellow Card is also registered on GoAML and with local Financial Intelligence Units in most of its jurisdictions to help report on AML, Sanctions, and Financial Crime matters and also complied with the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Botswana has become a major nation to take a step towards the regulation of the crypto industry and protect the investors from any financial fallout. Interestingly, the crypto platform believes that the citizens of this country “have a high-risk tolerance and are always looking for the next big thing in the digital space” and hence, this license will prove very beneficial in the longer run.
“The majority of the population is unbanked because of the increasing difficulty of getting bank accounts for the average people who do not have payslips. There’s no doubt that because of blockchain technology we have been able to cater to the unbanked in a faster and efficient way,”
said Keletso Thophego, Botswana Country Manager for Yellow Card.
With a population of over 2 million people, Botswana became one of the first nations to officially pass a bill to regulate the trading of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets in order to prevent the crypto industry from becoming the wild west.
The Virtual Assets Bill was unanimously approved in February and the new rules required every crypto firm looking to operate in the country to appy for a license with the NBFIRA and Yellow Card became the first exchange in winning the same.
It is also crucial to note that the exchange recently closed a Series B funding round with $40 million which was led by Polychain Capital, with participation from Valar Ventures, Third Prime, Sozo Ventures, Castle Island Ventures, Fabric Ventures, DG Daiwa Ventures, The Raba Partnership, Jon Weiner, Alex Wilson, Pat Duffy, and others.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
