ChainCatcher news, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) of South Africa has issued 63 licenses to Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASP). These approved licenses bring the total number of CASPs authorized to operate in South Africa to 138.According to the FSCA report, 383 applications have been received from entities seeking to provide crypto-related services. Of these, 5 applications were rejected for not meeting the applicable "fit and proper" requirements as stipulated by local financial services law. Additionally, 80 applications were voluntarily withdrawn by the applicants after engaging with the financial services regulator.

ChainCatcher news, the ruling party in Turkey has submitted a draft cryptocurrency bill to parliament, focusing on licensing and registration issues for cryptocurrency service providers, and aligning with international standards.According to Reuters, the draft bill aims to update existing laws to comprehensively regulate the emerging cryptocurrency market. The main areas of focus for the bill include consumer protection, platform transparency, and compliance with financial regulations. The proposed regulations intend to regulate cryptocurrency trading platforms and other service providers in the sector, requiring them to obtain licenses from the Turkish Capital Markets Board.The draft law aims to manage cryptocurrency asset service providers that Turkish residents can participate in, the operation of cryptocurrency asset platforms, the storage of cryptocurrency assets, as well as the buying, selling, and transferring of cryptocurrency assets. The legislation also addresses the classification of cryptocurrencies and projects, ensuring compliance with existing financial regulations.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi News, South Africa has authorized 75 companies as cryptocurrency service providers.It is understood that the South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has confirmed that it has granted cryptocurrency licenses to 75 institutions so far. The FSCA reminds the public that its licensing authority is limited to the authorization and supervision of Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASP), which are restricted to providing financial services related to crypto assets as defined by the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act.

ChainCatcher news, the Estonian government has approved a bill regulating cryptocurrency service providers, which still needs to pass a parliamentary vote. This bill will bring Estonia into compliance with the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.According to the legislation, cryptocurrency service providers will be regulated by the Financial Supervision Authority (FSA). Currently, these providers are registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and must comply with anti-money laundering (AML) rules. The FSA will start issuing licenses in 2025, and FIU license holders must apply for an FSA license by the end of that year.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cyprus Mail, the Cyprus Ministry of Finance plans to impose severe penalties on cryptocurrency service providers (CSPs) that fail to register with the relevant authorities. These penalties include fines of up to €350,000 and up to five years in prison, or both.The Cyprus Ministry of Finance intends to amend the current Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law and has submitted a draft amendment to the parliamentary legal affairs committee. According to the amendment, every service provider using crypto assets must register with the financial regulator, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).

ChainCatcher news, Australian regulators are intensifying their focus on cryptocurrency asset providers to ensure they fulfill their obligations to Australian consumers. Additionally, the government will reform the licensing and custody of cryptocurrency assets, establishing a set of obligations and operational standards for cryptocurrency service providers to ensure that providers adequately safeguard assets for their clients. Consultations on the design of the regulatory and licensing framework will begin in mid-2023.Moreover, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is expanding the size of its cryptocurrency team and strengthening enforcement measures. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is also ramping up efforts to prevent fraudulent activities, including scams involving cryptocurrency assets. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, cloud storage service provider Cloudflare recently released its "2022 Year in Review," which announced several global rankings of the most popular service providers. Among them, Binance, Coingecko, Coinbase, NiceHash, CoinMarketCap, OKX, Etherscan, Crypto.com, MEXC, and Kucoin were selected as the TOP 10 most popular cryptocurrency service providers in 2022; Binance ranked sixth in the TOP 10 most popular financial service providers globally in 2022. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to information released by the Australian Treasury, the Australian government plans to establish a licensing and regulatory framework for cryptocurrency service providers in 2023. The Australian government intends to release a consultation paper in early 2023 to inform which digital assets should be regulated under the financial services law, as well as to develop appropriate custody and licensing arrangements to protect consumers, and will consult on the regulatory and licensing framework before introducing legislation next year. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, December 8, a new proposal from the European Commission requires all cryptocurrency service providers "with EU customers" to report the transaction details of EU customers to tax authorities. The scope of this legislation includes cryptocurrencies "issued in a decentralized manner," including Stablecoins and NFTs.The Commission also suggested monitoring the cross-border transaction activities of high-net-worth individuals as a means to expand the data used by tax authorities, to prevent opportunities for concealing wealth from tax officials. The new rules still require unanimous approval from representatives of EU Council member states before coming into effect, and the European Commission hopes to implement the proposal starting in 2026. Previous reports indicated that the EU tax draft could generate $2.5 billion in revenue from cryptocurrency taxation. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the European Commission will propose a bill next week that will require cryptocurrency service providers in the EU region to report detailed information about customers within the EU to local tax authorities. The document shows that the bill aims to prevent tax evasion using cryptocurrencies and may apply to stablecoins, derivatives, and NFTs. (CoinDesk)