South Africa's National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank have published a draft Crypto Asset Manual that would bar resident companies from moving digital assets across borders while allowing individuals to continue using existing foreign-exchange allowances. The manual, released for public comment until September 30, 2026, forms part of the broader Capital Flow Management Regulations intended to replace the 1961 Exchange Control Regulations.
VALR co-founder and CEO Farzam Ehsani warned that the corporate prohibition is likely to push legitimate transactions into unregulated channels, reducing the very visibility and surveillance the framework seeks to achieve. "By prohibiting legitimate corporate activity through regulated providers, the proposed framework is likely to drive transactions underground or offshore," Ehsani said, adding that the effect would be to "reduce the very visibility and surveillance" that Treasury and the Reserve Bank seek, "while undermining employment, tax revenue, investment, innovation and business formation." He also noted that stablecoins and other crypto assets can facilitate cross-border payments more quickly, cheaply, and transparently than traditional channels when conducted through authorised providers.