South Africa issues draft rules for cross-border crypto

South Africa just told the crypto industry: we see you, and we’re writing rules for you. On April 17, 2026, the National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) published draft Capital Flow Management Regulations that, for the first time, formally include crypto assets in the country’s framework for managing money moving across its borders. The draft regulations replace the Exchange Control Regulations of 1961. Why this is happening now In 2025, a High Court ruling in the case of Standard Bank v SARB found that crypto assets did not fall under the existing legal definition of capital that required approval for cross-border transactions. In plain English: the court said crypto lived in a regulatory gap, and the old exchange control framework simply didn’t cover it. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana flagged the coming changes in his Budget Speech on February 25, 2026, emphasizing the need for a regulatory framework that could keep pace with how people actually use cryptocurrency today. The draft regulations published in April are the follow-through on that commitment. What the rules actually say Crypto assets are now explicitly part of South Africa’s capital flow managemen...