Maybe it's because I've been reading and quoting Hamlet recently (thanks to having been without electricity or Internet access for over thirty hours starting at 08:40 on Friday and needing something to do), but the following came to my attention during my latest attempt to diagnose why Presearch has stopped paying me for searches and why Natrium doesn't show me a list of representatives from which to choose:

According to Cointelegraph, the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority/Agency (DFSA) has "ordered Saxo Bank to erase its cryptocurrency holdings", as of 4 July. Citing Bloomberg, the same also reports that, on the same day, the South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has issued a mandate to crypto exchanges operating in the country, warning them that failure to register by 30 November will "result in severe consequences", which include fines and/or business closure.

Denmark and Saxo Bank

"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark." — Marcellus; Hamlet; Act I, Scene IV; William Shakespeare

According to Saxo Bank, the DFSA's decision will "have a very limited impact" on the bank's business and customers. The DFSA is targeting crypto exchanges and service providers, disallowing them to hold crypto in order to "hedge against trading risks", according to what the Coin Telegraph article states. Citing Section 24 of Denmark’s Financial Business Act, the DFSA claims that banks holding or trading in crypto is illegal for financial institutions and outside their area of business. It also stated that Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation(s) will only take effect in their entirety starting in December 2024 and, until such time, “the area thus remains unregulated ...", hence its decision to issue such an order to Saxo Bank. The bank, however, has not (yet) stopped dealing in crypto. Saxo's global communications head/spokesperson, Lasse Lilholt, had this to say:

"We naturally take the decision of the Financial Supervisory Authority into account and will read it thoroughly to consider how we otherwise respond to it.
[...] Saxo Bank holds a very limited portfolio of cryptocurrencies. The vast majority of this exposure [solely to hedge a marginal proportion of risk associated with the facilitation of crypto assets] is mitigated through exchange-traded and cleared products. Therefore, the FSA’s decision will have a very limited impact on our business, and our customers will not experience any significant changes."

Crypto, black sheep of global finance, come home!

South African Government vs Crypto Exchanges

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) commissioner, Unathi Kamlana, stated that the agency had received approximately 20 license applications since its recent opening and expected more before the November deadline, according to the Bloomberg report. The commissioner further stated that if crypto exchanges continue to operate without a license after the deadline, the regulator intends to take “enforcement action”, that being as mentioned previously. He further stated that the FSCA is of the opinion that "... introducing a regulatory framework for crypto products is a sensible approach due to the potential risk of serious harm to financial customers" (id est, banksters and tradfi businesses that haven't embraced crypto and the benefits of it's decentralised nature).

As crypto regulators and policymakers worldwide continue to tighten crypto regulations, South Africa could well be the first African country to implement and enforce such regulations.

Such a requirement/threat will affect a number of exchanges, such as Luno (which I use) and VALR (which is used by people I know). Global platforms, such as Binance, will also likely be required to acquire licenses in order to continue operations in the country. (I wouldn't be surprised if, on hearing this news, CZ will withdraw Binance's business from ZAF as he has with the USA and Australia.)

According to the FSCA:

"Failure to comply with this requirement constitutes a violation of the law and regulatory action may be initiated by the relevant authorities."

In Other News

TipNano is under maintenance, so I've not been earning a dollar a day there for a few days. It's more like $0.02 a day now (which is as much as a particularly good day on CVn). However, I have managed to earn ~10.6 XNO from it so far this month, mainly due to completing Theorum Reach surveys. I am hoping that whatever maintenance is done will be completed soon, so that I can earn more Nano to exchange for Telos (TLOS) or WAX and get my NFTs on that particular blockchain. I'm just short of halfway to that intended goal (22 XNO, the minimum amount for an exchange on SimpleSwap).

Thanks to issues with Natrium not showing a list of representatives from which to pick and having to clear my history and cache due to Presearch shenanigans, I've recently had trouble earning from CVn. I've switched to Nautilus and created a new wallet. Although Nautilus has the same problem with representatives, it does have a "Use Nautilus Representative" option, so that's working for me for the time being. NanoDrop, however, doesn't recognise it and gives the error "missing wallet address" when I supply it, but other faucets don't have that problem. I've managed to get a little Nano (XNO) sent to it. My other wallet addresses are still operational, should anyone wish to tip me in Nano (which some of you very generously do and I assume you've got one saved in your contacts list).

The fact that my government-issued ID is in the old format and has expired before I've got one of the new cards (preventing me from finding work online on certain sites, because the number I've memorised is "in an invalid format") isn't helping matters. I've had it for over thirty years without issue, but now this happens. It's authoritarian BS, IMO, and I don't need it in my life.

Aargh, will I ever catch a break long enough to get out of this country? I'm contemplating changing my legal name when I do, as an additional step in cutting ties with my old life.

"I am but mad North-North-West. When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw." — Hamlet, prince of Denmark; Hamlet; Act II, Scene II; William Shakespeare

Still, I dropped a post on LinkedIn this morning, in the hope of finding businesses that are prepared to deal with me directly and offer me development work as a freelancer/independent contractor. I'm done bothering with recruitment agencies, since they're clearly unhelpful, unprofessional and useless time-wasters. I don't deal with match-makers and well-connected social butterfly friends to find long-terms life partners, so why should I take a different approach to finding business clients and/or employers? It doesn't make sense and I've been foolish to put artificial barriers/constraints/dampers on my enthusiasm to deprive people (particularly foreigners) of their money.

Let's hit the road, dear friend of mine, wave goodbye to our thankless jobs.

I'm not here. This isn't happening.

Conclusion

"That one may smile and smile and be a villain." — Hamlet; Hamlet; Act I, Scene V; William Shakespeare

As both a South African citizen and crypto enthusiast, I am not at all happy about this news. It wouldn't surprise me to see this regulation followed up by ones that declare crypto-related activity outright banned/illegal in the countries mentioned. I've already been contemplating the idea of leaving the country when I have the financial means to do so (due to shoddy infrastructure having a negative impact). This gives me yet another reason to do so. It also further strengthens my opinion that it is preferable to exchange/trade crypto (particularly privacy coins such as Monero and ZCash) through a decentralised exchange (DEX) or DAO, rather than a centralised one (CEX) that requires completion of KYC.

Perhaps if the South African government focused its resources on the real issues the country faces, such as the underlying causes of load shedding and the state of the economy and unemployment, instead of going after perceived threats to it (such as the freedom of the people to find viable alternatives to our laughable banana bucks), I wouldn't feel as strongly about this as I currently do.

On that bombshell, I leave you with some Metric via Scott Pilgrim vs the World and Brie Larson looking sexy in a black satin/silk dress:

I'll send you my love on a wire.

Thumbnail image from the Coin Telegraph post on the South African regulation notice

This post is now also available on Medium. An NFT version will be made available on Mirror if requested.