Landifa becomes first Namibian registered VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider) with Bank of Namibia’s FIC

Landifa (formerly Bitcoin Trade Namibia) has become the first registered virtual asset service provider (VASP) in Namibia under a new directive issued by the Bank of Namibia’s Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC).

Through a series of consultation meetings Landifa has assisted the FIC in drafting new regulatory directives that aim to regulate KYC/AML procedures for entities operating in Namibia’s budding cryptocurrency space.

This milestone provides further clarity on what regulatory compliance practices are required by entities that offer cryptocurrency services within Namibia.

Although the FIC is not mandated to regulate cryptocurrency activities itself, it does recognise that many business entities who do offer cryptocurrency services are essentially financial institutions and thus an important part of Namibia financial system.

The directives specify what sort of record keeping practices must be considered as an entity operating in Namibia’s cryptocurrency space and provide a positive signal for further regulatory clarity to arise from Namibian state organisations down the road.