National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank have published draft rules explaining when cryptocurrency transactions count as capital moving into or out of South Africa.
Under the proposal, a crypto transfer becomes reportable when digital assets move from an authorised South African provider to an offshore provider or a private wallet controlled by the investor.
These transactions would need to be reported to the Reserve Bank’s Financial Surveillance Department.
Which crypto transactions would be reported?
The draft rules focus on the point at which crypto leaves South Africa’s regulated domestic network.
Reportable transactions would include transfers:
- From an authorised local provider to an offshore provider
- From an authorised local provider to an investor’s private wallet
Buying crypto with rand through an authorised South African platform would remain a domestic, non-reportable transaction.
Transfers between two authorised South African platforms would also remain outside the proposed reporting requirements.
Court rulings prompted regulatory uncertainty
The draft follows two conflicting High Court decisions on whether cryptocurrency qualifies as capital under South Africa’s exchange control rules.
In May 2025, the Pretoria High Court ruled that crypto was neither “capital” nor “currency” under the Exchange Control Regulations of 1961.
The case was brought by Standard Bank after SARB attempted to seize funds linked to a company that had moved about R556 million in Bitcoin to an exchange in Seychelles.
The court sided with Standard Bank and found that SARB had exceeded its legal powers because the 1961 regulations did not contemplate Bitcoin.
SARB is appealing the decision.
In June 2026, the Johannesburg High Court reached the opposite finding and ruled that Bitcoin does qualify as capital.
The two High Courts therefore disagree, while the appeal and the legal status of Bitcoin under the existing regulations remain unresolved.
Draft forms part of wider capital flow reforms
The draft Manual accompanies the broader draft Capital Flow Management Regulations published by Treasury in April 2026.
Those proposed regulations would replace the Exchange Control Regulations of 1961.
The wider draft has already faced concerns from the industry over the potential reach of the new rules.
Who would be allowed to transfer crypto offshore?
Under the current proposal, only individuals would be permitted to move cryptocurrency offshore.
They would need to complete the transaction through an authorised provider and use their existing single discretionary allowance or foreign capital allowance.
The foreign capital allowance lets qualifying taxpayers aged 18 and older transfer up to R10 million offshore each year, provided SARS has approved their tax compliance.
Resident companies would not be permitted to transfer crypto from a domestic provider to an offshore exchange or private wallet under the current draft.
New record-keeping requirements for crypto platforms
Authorised crypto providers would need to record and reconcile cross-border transactions each day.
The required information would include:
- The direction of the transaction
- The transaction reference
- The blockchain hash
- The digital asset transferred
- The rand value of the asset
Treasury and SARB say the proposed reporting requirements aim to close regulatory gaps and provide greater visibility into illicit financial flows.
What the draft rules do not change
The proposed framework would not make cryptocurrency legal tender.
It would also not distinguish between different types of digital assets or prohibit people from holding cryptocurrency.
The rules remain in draft form and may change following public consultation.
Public comments close on 30 September 2026.
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