The Mauritius Virtual Asset and Initial Token Offering Services Act 2021 (the “Act”) came into force on the 7th of February 2022.
The Act delivers a regulatory framework for new and developing activities regarding Virtual Assets (“VAs”) and Initial Token Offerings (“ITOs”) in Mauritius.
What are the different licences available under the VASP regime?
VASP consists of several sub-categories of licences as follows:
- Holders of Class M (Virtual Asset Broker-Dealer) licences carry out activities such as exchange between VAs and fiat currencies; or exchange between one or more forms of VAs.
- Class O (Virtual Asset Wallet Services) licences pertain to the transfer of VAs.
- Class R (Virtual Asset Custodian) licensees are responsible for safekeeping of VAs or instruments enabling control over VAs; administration of VAs or instruments enabling control over VAs.
- Class I (Virtual Asset Advisory Services) licence is required for the participation in and provision of financial services related to an issuer’s offer and/or sale of VAs.
- Virtual asset exchanges must apply for a Class S (Virtual Asset Market Place) licence. A Virtual Asset Exchange is a centralised or decentralised virtual platform, whether in Mauritius or in another jurisdiction which facilitates the exchange of VAs for fiat currency or other VAs on behalf of third parties for a fee, a commission, a spread or other benefit and which:
- holds custody, or controls VAs, on behalf of its clients to facilitate an exchange or
- purchases VAs from a seller when transactions or bids and offers are matched in order to sell them to a buyer.
The definition of Virtual Asset Exchange also includes the owner or operator of the virtual platform, but excludes a platform only providing a forum where sellers and buyers may post bids and offers and a forum where the parties trade in a separate platform or in a peer-to-peer manner.
For more details check this link: https://www.fscmauritius.org/media/119933/faqs-vaitos-act-2021-final.pdf
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