The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) on 26th December issued a Prakas - guideline - outlining the licensing requirements for institutions and entities engaging in cryptoasset transactions.
The Prakas, comprising six chapters and 26 articles, applies to all Commercial Banks and Payment Service Institutions under the NBC supervisory authority, intending to have cryptoasset exposures and/or to provide cryptoasset services as cryptoasset service providers (CASPs).
The Prakas classifies cryptoassets into two groups: Group 1 and Group 2.
Group 1 consists of cryptoassets that are digital representations of traditional financial instruments or the value of which refers to traditional assets or to a pool of traditional assets known as reference assets
Group 2 encompasses all cryptoassets that do not align with the criteria of Group 1, including, but not limited to, unbacked cryptoassets that are neither tokenised traditional assets nor stablecoins
Any commercial bank or payment services institution wishing to offer or involve the conduct of one or more of the services as stipulated in Article 20 must obtain prior authorisation from the NBC.
Similarly, any entity aspiring to function as a CASP for one or more of the services outlined in Article 20 is obligated to procure a licence from the NBC.
The Prakas establishes a regulatory framework within which institutions and entities can operate, thereby mitigating potential risks associated with cryptoasset transactions.
The NBC has asserted that the purpose of this Prakas is to manage transactions and business activities related to cryptoassets in accordance with Article 2 to 4 of the Law on Banking and Financial Institutions.
Failure on the part of commercial banks, payment services institutions, and licensed CASPs to comply with this Prakas shall be subject to penalties as set out in Article 52 of the Law on Banking and Financial Institutions.
With AKP
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