- The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) recognizes digital assets and stablecoins as emerging financial stability risks.
- The number of users on South Africa‘s three largest crypto exchanges reached 7.8 million by mid-2025, with about $1.5 billion held in custody.
- Stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar have become the dominant trading pair due to lower price volatility compared to other cryptocurrencies.
- South Africa lacks a comprehensive regulatory framework for stablecoins and has only partial regulations for cryptocurrencies.
- While the central bank expresses caution, some government agencies have licensed crypto companies and classified cryptocurrency as a financial product.
The South African Reserve Bank released its second financial stability report for 2025, identifying digital assets and stablecoins as new risks due to growing adoption in the country. As of July 2025, the combined user base across the three largest crypto exchanges in South Africa reached 7.8 million, with approximately $1.5 billion held in custody by the end of 2024.
The report highlights concerns that crypto assets, due to their fully digital and borderless nature, can bypass South Africa’s Exchange Control Regulations, which are designed to manage funds moving in and out of the country. In addition to well-known cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), XRP (XRP), Ether (ETH), and Solana (SOL), the bank noted a significant increase in stablecoin trading volume since 2022. It emphasized that USD-pegged stablecoins have become the preferred trading pair on local crypto platforms because of their notably lower price volatility compared to unbacked crypto assets.
According to the report, “Whereas Bitcoin and other popular crypto assets were the main conduit for trading crypto assets until 2022, USD-pegged stablecoins have become the preferred trading pair on South African crypto asset trading platforms […] This is due to the notably lower price volatility of stablecoins compared to unbacked crypto assets.” The Financial Stability Board, overseeing G20 financial entities, reported in October that South Africa has no regulatory framework for global stablecoins and only partial regulations for cryptocurrencies.
The central bank warned that risks could accumulate unnoticed without an appropriate regulatory framework, posing a threat to financial stability. This caution echoes a 2017 stance when deputy governor Francois Groepe called issuing digital currencies too risky for the nation.
Contrasting with the central bank’s cautious tone, South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority, in 2022, classified cryptocurrency as a financial product and began issuing licenses for crypto businesses to operate within the country.
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