South Africa's financial watchdog issued an advisory warning users to be "cautious and vigilant" when dealing with cryptocurrency exchanges FTX and Bybit.
- The Financial Field Conduct Authority said Tuesday that FTX cannot trade contracts for difference (CFDs), which are instruments that allow traders to guess at the short-term movement in the cost of an asset.
- "It has come to the attention of the FSCA that FTX can offer the South African public access to its online platform to trade, among many other things, derivatives," the FSCA said.
- "FTX is not authorized to provide financial advice or brokerage services under the Financial Advisory and Brokerage Services Act of two thousand and two (FAIS Act) in South Africa."
- The FSCA has also issued a notice to the exact same effect regarding the Bybit crypto derivatives exchange.
- Bybit stated that it wishes to apply to the FSCA for the required authorization. FTX did not respond to communication from the regulator.
- FTX had not responded to CoinDesk's request for comment at the time of publication.
- Following 2 major scams involving crypto businesses in South Africa last year, the FSCA announced plans in December to prepare a regulatory framework on how cryptocurrency trading should take place. The framework is expected to be unveiled early this year.
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