Cryptocurrency exchange to open in South Africa in Q3: Sygnia

South African money manager Sygnia Ltd. said it plans to start a cryptocurrency exchange in the third quarter of the current year to tap growing interest from investors in the country in digital currencies.

To be known as SygniaCoin, the exchange will “offer investors a secure trading and execution platform backed by an international infrastructure, well-designed custody and integration with standard savings products,” the Cape Town-based company said. Sygnia, which has 181 billion rand ($14.5 billion) under management, also plans a fund that will invest in a range of cryptocurrencies, it said in an six-month trading statement Friday.

Digital currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are becoming increasingly popular, and the South African central bank has started a financial-technology unit to review its position on private cryptocurrencies and to help draw up policies. The bank chooses to refer to digital currencies as “cyber-tokens” because they don’t meet the requirements to be classified as money, Deputy Governor Francois Groepe said in Pretoria Thursday.

Sygnia said its exchange will follow the regulatory framework for cryptocurrency trading platforms registered in the state of New York.

Source: Bloomberg