The government of Namibia has officially signed a new law to regulate Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) which operate in the African nation on July 21st, and thus reversing its 2017 decision to ban cryptocurrency exchanges.

The VASP-regulating law has been signed into effect within the Republic of Namibia after being greenlit by Namibia’s National Assembly on the 6th of July and approved by resident Hage Geingob on July 14.

Called the Namibia Virtual Assets Act 2023, the bill aims to assign a regulatory authority which can supervise the activities of cryptocurrency exchanges in the nation, with the law representing the first with regards to regulating cryptocurrency activities in the country.

Reportedly, non-compliant VASPs will face penalties of up to 10 million Namibian dollars ($671,000) and 10 years in prison, with the Bank of Namibia, the country’s central bank, maintaining its stance that cryptocurrencies continue to not hold legal tender status.

The move follows the trends of other African countries who are looking to regulate crypto and crypto-related activities.

Botswana, Kenya, Mauritius and Seychelles have passed cryptocurrency laws while The Central African Republic made Bitcoin (BTC) legal tender in April of last year but has reversed the decision less than 12 months later.

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/namibia-crypto-exchange-vasp-regulation-signed-into-law

https://techcabal.com/2023/07/26/namibia-crypto-law/

http://www.lac.org.na/laws/2023/8143.pdf