The Virtual Assets Act, 2023 (Act No. 10 of 2023) is Namibia’s national framework for licensing and supervising virtual asset service providers, token issuers, and related virtual asset market activity. The Act was signed by the President on 14 July 2023, published in Government Gazette No. 8143 on 21 July 2023, and became operational on 25 July 2023.
The statute moves Namibia from a warning-led approach to a formal licensing model. Its stated purpose is to license and regulate virtual asset service providers, designate a regulatory authority, protect consumers, prevent market abuse, and mitigate money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation-financing risks in virtual asset markets.
Scope of Namibia’s virtual asset law
The Act applies to persons that, by way of business, provide virtual asset services for or on behalf of another person. It defines a virtual asset as a digital representation of value that can be digitally transferred, stored or traded, uses distributed ledger technology or similar technology, and can be used for payment or investment purposes. The definition excludes digital representations of fiat currencies and securities or other financial assets regulated under Namibian securities or financial-assets law.
Schedule 2 covers initial token offerings, crypto-to-crypto and fiat-to-crypto exchange, transfers of virtual assets, virtual asset exchanges, safekeeping or administration of virtual assets, and financial services connected with a token issuer’s offer or sale. The Act also excludes certain closed-loop items, ancillary technology services, non-custodial wallet manufacturing support, validation, node operation, and virtual mining services.
Bank of Namibia oversight and licensing classes
The Minister responsible for finance may designate one or more regulatory authorities. The Bank of Namibia has been designated as the prudential regulatory authority for the industry, while the Financial Intelligence Centre retains AML/CFT/CPF supervision for relevant obligations. The Act gives the regulatory authority powers to license VASPs, regulate and monitor virtual asset services, appoint inspectors, issue directives, make rules, publish guidelines, set fees, cooperate with other authorities, and advise the Minister.
Schedule 1 creates licence classes for token issuers, virtual asset broker-dealers, virtual asset marketplaces, wallet service providers, custodians, and advisory service providers. A person may not operate as a virtual asset service provider unless incorporated, registered, or resident as required in Namibia, maintains a registered office or place of business in Namibia, and holds a licence under the Act.
Key compliance themes
Client asset protection and market conduct
Licence holders must act honestly and fairly, use due care, maintain professional conduct, protect customer virtual assets, and preserve customer confidentiality. Custodial licence holders must maintain sufficient virtual assets for client obligations, and client virtual assets are not treated as the licence holder’s property or subject to creditor claims. Exchange-related systems and controls must address transaction monitoring, business continuity, safeguarding, and market-abuse detection.
Transfers, AML/CFT and reporting
The transfer rules in the Act require originating and beneficiary virtual asset service providers to obtain, hold, and transmit required originator and beneficiary information, with records kept so they can be made available to the regulatory authority. Licence applications must also include policies and measures for obligations under the Act, the Financial Intelligence Act, and AML/CFT and proliferation-related laws.
Initial token offerings and disclosures
A token issuer may not make an initial token offering unless it has prepared, notified, and published a prospectus. The prospectus must provide full and accurate disclosure sufficient to support an informed purchaser decision. Advertising for initial token offerings must be accurate, identifiable as advertising, consistent with the prospectus, and compliant with criteria set by the regulator.
Status and implementation timeline
As of 27 July 2026, the Act should be treated as in force. Bank of Namibia materials list the Act and related virtual asset rules, including rules for applications, advertising, travel-rule information, client disclosure, custody, cybersecurity, fit-and-proper requirements, risk management, statutory returns, and capital requirements. In January 2025, the Bank announced provisional authorisations for two virtual asset service provider applicants, subject to pre-authorisation conditions before any full operational licence could permit commencement of official operations.
