The temporary exemption from the regulatory exams for FSPs and key individuals authorised for crypto assets (including current applicants) will end in three months.
In terms of FAIS Notice 25 of 2023, a crypto asset FSP and its key individuals are exempted from Part 4 of Chapter 3 of the Determination of Fit and Proper Requirements for Financial Services Providers (Board Notice 194 of 2017) for a period of 18 months from the effective date of the Notice. The effective date of Notice 25 was 11 May 2023, which indicates that the 18 months will end on 10 November 2024.
The FSCA later clarified that it recognises many crypto asset FSPs may be new to financial services industry regulation and may not have completed the required examinations. The Authority said that imposing the examination requirements immediately could cause significant disruption to those who were already providing crypto asset services before the declaration.
The FSCA stated: “Persons rendering financial services in respect of crypto assets are required to write the same regulatory examination/s as any other person rendering services in respect of any of the other financial products.”
