• The purpose of the law is to create a system for licensing and regulating VASPs.
• The law is awaiting publication before it can take effect.

The National Assembly of Namibia has passed a law offering regulation of cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Thus, becoming the latest country in Africa to do so. A measure to govern virtual assets, cryptocurrencies, and VASPs in Namibia was enacted by the lower house of parliament on June 22.

The purpose of the law is to create a system for licensing and regulating VASPs. It also aims to establish a regulatory body to oversee the operations of such service providers.

The primary goals are to safeguard consumers, stop market abuse, and reduce the potential for illegal activities like money laundering, terrorist funding, and proliferation to occur in the digital asset market. The legislation also extends to include ancillary concerns that arise out of these primary goals.

Stringent Compliance

The law, it has been reported in the local press, is awaiting publication before it can take effect. According to reports, Iipumbu Shiimi, Namibia’s Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises, has proposed creating a regulatory agency to oversee VASPs in the nation and provide licenses to those that meet certain criteria.

According to media reports, service providers that fail to comply may be subject to fines of up to 10 million Namibian dollars ($671,572) and ten years in jail. The Bank of Namibia, however, remains firm on its stance that virtual currencies are not recognized as legal cash in Namibia.

The bank made it clear in 2017 that it did not approve of customers using cryptocurrency to make purchases. It made clear that the decades-old legislation of the African nation does not permit the trading of virtual currencies.

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