The Mauritius Financial Services Commission has issued guidance establishing a regulatory regime for stablecoin issuance, distribution and related services. The framework applies a substance-over-form approach under the Virtual Asset and Initial Token Offerings Services Act and excludes algorithmic and yield-bearing stablecoins from permitted models. Issuers must maintain minimum unimpaired stated capital equal to the higher of MUR 5 million, 50% of annual operating expenses or a percentage of reserve assets set by the commission. Reserve assets must fully cover outstanding stablecoins, be segregated, marked to market daily and protected from creditor claims. Stablecoins must be redeemable at par within five days, while issuers must disclose reserve values daily and composition weekly, obtain monthly independent attestations and conduct annual reserve audits. Governance, operational resilience, cybersecurity, custody and incident-reporting requirements also apply. Issuers and service providers must hold the relevant licences or registrations. Stablecoins offered as payment instruments require a Bank of Mauritius licence, while fiat-pegged stablecoins issued in or from Mauritius also require the central bank’s no-objection. Stablecoins are not legal tender in Mauritius, and investments are not covered by a statutory compensation arrangement.
2026-08-13Mauritius Financial Services Commission
Mauritius Financial Services Commission establishes stablecoin regime, bars algorithmic and yield-bearing models
The Mauritius Financial Services Commission has established a regulatory regime for stablecoins and will not permit algorithmic or yield-bearing models. Issuers face capital, full reserve-backing, disclosure, audit and five-day par-redemption requirements. Payment use and fiat-pegged issuance may also require Bank of Mauritius approval.