The news of FTX, one of the biggest crypto companies in the world, filing for bankruptcy has sent shockwaves throughout the crypto industry. But what does this mean for African crypto companies and customers? How will this impact African governments, regulatory bodies, and investors? And most importantly, how do we prevent this from happening in the future?
Companies like Yellow card have come out to clear the air that they never had any assets with FTX, and are not associated with FTX in any way, but unfortunately, they are in the same sector that is experiencing a downfall.
In a statement from the crypto company, they came out to reassure their investors, stakeholders, and customers of the important measures we take to ensure that our customers’ funds and digital assets are safe and secure.
The company secures accounts and holds at minimum 1:1 cash to assets for their customers – meaning that at any given time a customer can withdraw funds from their wallet. They don’t lend money and do not borrow money, let alone secured by customer deposits. Their security features are built from the ground up with streamlined security for their customers, including multi-signature wallets and various other best-of-breed security controls. See the remaining statement from YellowCard below.
We are the first crypto licence holder on the continent In September 2022, Yellow Card became the first cryptocurrency company on the continent to be granted a Virtual Asset Service Provider licence to operate in Botswana, receiving a licence issued by the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA). Yellow Card has also been issued a general financial services licence by COSUMAF, and has submitted applications to participate in sandboxes established by the central banks of Uganda and Zambia. Core to our strategy, Yellow Card is actively engaged with various other regulators across the continent, as the company is a staunch advocate of regulating the industry in order to protect consumers, prevent scams (which unfortunately are all too prevalent), and encourage financial technology to flourish, while creating a level playing field. We Adhere to International Regulatory Standards Yellow Card complies with global and applicable domestic anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, sanctions, and other “know your customer”: requirements, including the FATF Travel Rule. Yellow Card is registered with the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as a money services business and is also registered with the financial crime and investigation units of various regulatory authorities across the continent. As a company incorporated in the United States, the company also complies with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and U.S. Bank Secrecy Act. Access to Free Educational Platform We are committed to educating our customers through our FREE online platform, the Yellow Card Academy. The platform provides a wide range of information about cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, and financial literacy. It provides simplified guides to understanding crypto, blockchain, and personal finance, and ultimately, the core principle of crypto to give everyone sovereignty over their finances. Crypto is Part of Africa’s Future Yellow Card believes that the future is crypto. On a daily basis, we see how this technology has positively bridged the gap and created more financial inclusion across the African continent. We remain one of the most reliable, secure, fastest and licensed crypto exchange platforms on the African continent.
