3 entries.
Gazetted on 17 April 2026 (Government Gazette No. 7375), the Draft Capital Flow Management Regulations replace the Exchange Control Regulations of 1961 in their entirety and bring crypto assets into South Africa's capital flow framework for the first time: crypto is expressly defined as capital, cross-border transfers above prescribed thresholds must run through an authorised crypto asset service provider, and an administrative penalties regime attaches. The draft also legislatively reverses the May 2025 Standard Bank ruling that crypto fell outside the 1961 regulations. It is the structural counterpart to FSCA licensing, CARF data-sharing (effective 1 March 2026) and FIC's Travel Rule guidance. Re-verified 6 July 2026: the comment deadline, originally 18 May, was extended to 30 June at stakeholders' request and has now closed. Final form pending.
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).
The NBE declared all birr-paired peer-to-peer crypto transactions illegal unless expressly authorised, citing FX manipulation, fraud and missing AML/CFT safeguards. It is Ethiopia's first named regulatory action on crypto. Read it as currency policy rather than crypto philosophy: after the July 2024 reform programme and a roughly 200% birr devaluation, the ban closes an arbitrage channel. The same statement confirms a comprehensive digital asset framework is in development with global peer regulators; the prohibition is scoped narrowly and authorisation is explicitly contemplated. When that framework lands, it would be East Africa's second formal licensing regime after Kenya. The ban is the signal; the framework is the story. Re-verified 6 July 2026: the framework had not been published; the Financial Intelligence Service was reported to be developing crypto transaction regulations, with wider legislation still expected in 2026.
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