South Africa moves to bring crypto transfers inside exchange control

The National Treasury signalled amendments to the Exchange Control Regulations to govern transfers of crypto assets to non-residents. This is the missing piece that puts crypto-to-fiat conversions and cross-border transfers under the same SARB approval and declaration machinery as ordinary currency transfers. The direction of travel is clear even before the text: VASPs holding customer funds, stablecoin issuers with cross-border redemption flows, and institutions moving ZAR into digital assets for offshore transfer should expect exchange-control reporting to become part of their compliance stack. The move aligns with FIC's Travel Rule guidance (PCC 123) and the wider capital flow management overhaul. Re-verified 6 July 2026: the signalled instrument arrived on 17 April as the Draft Capital Flow Management Regulations, 2026 (cpm-2026-0009).