Cryptocurrency investing should be carried with the same heft as people do with their fiat currencies. When people want to deposit, withdraw or transact money, they choose options they know are safe and efficient for them. This is the reason people prefer using banks that are registered and regulated by government organizations. They know that their money is safe, and they will receive better legal and convenient services.
The same theory should be applied to cryptocurrency. Although cryptocurrency is not yet legalized as a legal tender in most countries globally, all cryptocurrency holds different financial value and is used for various procedures where their value proves their worth. The reason to choose regulated crypto exchange platforms is mainly to help people to have better quality services from the platforms they use.
The real meaning of a regulated crypto exchange platform is that the platform is registered and complies with rules set by the government concerning the services offered. Some people love and adopt crypto to try to use the decentralized nature of the technology for criminal activities around the world. But when a specific country regulates an exchange platform, it complies with most of the rules governing money in the country and most countries in the world, including Africa. For people’s peace of mind, it is important to use platforms that comply with regulations.
A good example of why this is critical happened to Binance, one of the greatest crypto exchange platforms in the world. One of the greatest challenges unregulated platforms suffer from is legal resistance from governments with jurisdiction over their markets. Binance found out about this the hard way in the United Kingdom. The company was warned and listed among unregulated platforms. Due to this, transactions done on Binance were delayed, and the company was frozen out of many of the services it offered to its customers, with the most impactful freeze being frozen out of payment networks. This article is meant to help African users to make the right decisions and avoid such issues in the future. Here are the top regulated crypto exchange platforms to choose from;
Gemini
Gemini has to be the first on this list. The company was developed in 2015, and it is marketed as a regulated platform to buy, sell and store cryptocurrency. The company, Gemini Trust Company LLC, is registered with the New York State Department of Financial Services(NYSDFS), meaning that all the services provided by the organization comply with the American regulations. The organization goes an extra step to get regulations from organizations and government bodies it is not mandatory to comply with. Some of the rules and regulations include capitalization, compliance, anti-money laundering, consumer protection, and cyber security. Gemini is also registered and approved by the FCA, Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, which is the same organization that caused trouble for Binance. Due to the company’s willingness to comply with regulations in many countries, this is the best platform to use. Since it is regulated and verified in most countries across the world, you are sure you can access your cryptocurrency tokens and transact with people worldwide. This is why the platform is the favorite platform among corporations, asset managers, wealth managers, and liquidity providers since they are assured that their money is safe and easy to operate.
Kraken
Some cryptocurrency markets have very strict financial rules and regulations that crypto exchange platforms need to follow. Although Africa is not among them, it is possible that in the future, many African governments will regulate cryptocurrency to try to control the market and reduce the chances for people to perform illegal activities through cryptocurrency. Kraken is one of the best options because the platform is used in almost all the countries on earth and Africa. The only places in Africa Kraken are unavailable are Libya and Brazaville, and Kinshasa cities in Congo. If you live anywhere else in Africa, you can use the platform and have the peace of mind that the platform complies with the regulations in the countries where applied, whether regulation is mandatory or not.
Coinbase
The third regulated crypto exchange platform that people should consider using is Coinbase. This might be the best option for people using cryptocurrency in Africa. The best thing about Coinbase is its ease to use and opening an account with the platform. It is widely used in Africa and worldwide, meaning that wherever you go, you will have the chance to use the platform without any resistance caused by governments due to a lack of following the regulation. Coinbase is registered as a money services business and follows all the regulations required by other businesses involved in the trade. The platform is also registered in most jurisdictions where it operates and complies with the regulations. This means that people who choose to use Coinbase as the exchange platform in Africa will have peace of mind knowing that their money will be safe in case their government decides to crack down on unregulated platforms.
Swissborg
When choosing a crypto exchange platform, you should also consider ease of use while still looking for regulation. Swissborg is one of the easiest and most regulated crypto exchange platforms that exist in the world. The platform developed an application you could use on your phone, meaning that you could easily transact and perform other cryptocurrency-related activities while on the move. Swissborg is governed or complies with the financial regulations of Estonia, which is one of the countries with the strictest financial regulations required in the world. Apart from the strict requirement that Swissborg complies with, the members are required to follow the KYC rules, which improve the platform’s security. The platform followed all the rules under the money laundering and terrorist prevention act and was among the few remaining cryptos and financial organizations that remained after the 2020 crackdown on regulations carried out in Estonia. The crackdown led to over 1000 licenses being revoked. If African countries decide to regulate crypto exchange platforms in the future, this will be one of the platforms that survive the regulations since it already follows the rules required.
