The prevention of money laundering in the use of cryptocurrency
- Authors: Mnyakama, Mzimkhulu
- Date: 2023-04
- Subjects: Money laundering--Prevention , Digital currency
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , thesis
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/60645 , vital:66287
- Description: Money laundering has become common in the world and the introduction of cryptocurrencies has created another avenue that makes it easier to move funds between jurisdictions without anyone knowing. A block chain technology is used to process peer-to-peer electronic payments utilising decentralised virtual currencies known as cryptocurrencies. Although they are not yet regulated, cryptocurrencies are prevalent in South Africa and pose a risk of being used for money laundering and other illicit activities. The regulation of cryptocurrencies in South Africa to prevent money laundering is what is being examined by this research project. The objectives were to understand the concept of money laundering, cryptocurrency and the inherent risks of cryptocurrency in money laundering. An analysis and examination of the difficult concept of cryptocurrency and the risks of money laundering was done. The study demonstrated that cryptocurrencies are decentralised convertible virtual currencies based on cryptographic algorithms. Cryptocurrencies are not monitored by a central body. The research reveals that the use of cryptocurrencies presents risks of money laundering and other illegal activities because of its decentralised, anonymous, peer-to-peer, and unregulated nature. The study focused on the prevention of money laundering using cryptocurrency. International regulatory frameworks of countries such as Canada, United States of America, European Union and Australia were discussed and compared to the South African regulatory developments. It was established that the legal frameworks developed by Canada, the United States of America, the European Union, and Australia aim to mitigate the risk of money laundering associated with the use of cryptocurrencies. Additionally, it was discovered that there is no legislative framework in South Africa to regulate cryptocurrencies, however SARB acknowledged that efforts are being made to develop one. ix It was determined that South Africa urgently needs regulatory interventions in the continued use of cryptocurrencies. The author presented recommendations based on this need, including incorporating cryptocurrencies into the current legal framework by designating them as financial products and adopting a proactive rather than a reactionary approach to the developments of cryptocurrencies. , Thesis (LLM) -- Faculty of Law, School of School of Criminal and Procedural Law, 2023
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- Date Issued: 2023-04
Testing the efficient market hypothesis in the cryptocurrency market
- Authors: Apopo, Natalya Camilla
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Digital currency
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/42427 , vital:36662
- Description: Digital currencies are rising in popularity owing to their purported benefits and the speculative profits that investors are making in the market. These currencies, though decentralised in substance, can be purchased using digital wallets from cryptocurrency exchange platforms around the world. In Africa, these platforms are still at the nascent stages of growth and development, but evidence suggests a burgeoning potential in these markets. Volatility in these markets has been a topic of concern for many empirical investigations with most finding corroborative evidence of excess volatility in the digital currency market. However, there is a conflicting body of evidence when it comes to the studies evaluating the efficiency of the virtual currency market. The efficient market hypothesis ( EMH)is a controversial theory in finance. Proponents argue that it provides a basis for understanding financial markets whereas opponents suggest that the hypothesis is premature in its assumptions of the real functioning of these markets. Though not perfect, the efficient markets model provides a sufficient baseline against which capital markets may be analysed. Besides being one of the most empirically investigated theories in finance, its utility led to the development of later models such as the capital asset pricing model. In postulating that the prices of securities reflect all available information in capital markets, the efficient markets theory lends itself to testing the efficacy levels of the cryptocurrency market. For the purposes of this study, the weak version of the efficient markets theory was evaluated as itis considered the lowest possible form of efficiency attainable. Using both linear and nonlinear unit root testing methodologies, a significant subset of the cryptocurrency market was investigated for inefficiencies via the null hypothesis of non-stationarity. There were mixed results from the testing process, but a substantial portion of the currencies investigated rejected the null of a unit root in favour of stationarity, providing some evidence against weak form efficiency. For these reasons, it is recommended that further research be conducted in the virtual currency markets to offer more conclusive findings.
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- Date Issued: 2019