The Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA) has issued an operating licence to pan-African cryptocurrency exchange Yellow Card's Botswana subsidiary, Yellow Card Botswana.
In a statement, the regulator stated that the exchange has been granted a licence to operate as a Virtual Asset Service Provider in accordance with Section 11 of the Virtual Asset Act, 2022.
Under the Virtual Assets Act which was passed in February, any operator providing cryptocurrency and related virtual assets in Botswana is required to be licensed with NBFIRA or face fines of up to P250,000 and/or five years in jail.
The Act was passed as part of tighter Anti Money Laundering/Combating Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation (AML/CFT-P) protocols instituted by the country as part of upgrading the financial sector to the highest global standards following its grey-listing last year by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for lax anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures.
As a cryptocurrency exchange, Yellow Card allows clients to directly buy, sell, and store bitcoin and other virtual assets. The exchange recently raised a $40 million Series B round to expand and improve its product offering.