South Africa Issues Draft Rules for Cross-Border Crypto Transactions
South Africa has taken a significant step towards regulating cryptocurrency by releasing draft guidelines for cross-border transactions. The National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank jointly published the Crypto Asset Manual, which outlines when moving crypto across borders becomes a regulated event.
The rules are designed to prevent crypto assets from being used as a backdoor around existing financial controls and help authorities detect illicit flows. A transaction is considered cross-border only when assets move from a local authorised provider to an offshore one or into a private wallet, not when buying or selling in rand through a local provider.
Only individuals will be permitted to move crypto assets offshore within their existing foreign currency allowances. The framework does not give crypto legal tender status and does not yet distinguish between different types of crypto assets, with further research ongoing.