South Africa faces regulatory gaps as crypto oversight remains incomplete, with the SARB and National Treasury working on cross-border crypto transaction rules and updating Exchange Control Regulations to cover crypto assets.

This aligns with global concerns, as the Financial Stability Board warned that SA has no framework for global stablecoins and only partial crypto regulations.

The SARB warns that crypto’s borderless nature can enable circumvention of Exchange Control Regulations, highlighting potential regulatory gaps.

Standard Chartered projects up to $1 trillion in emerging market bank-deposit outflows over the next three years as savers move into USD-stablecoins and digital dollars.

Stablecoin trading activity in SA has surged, rising from about 4 billion rand in 2022 to nearly 80 billion rand by October 2025.

South Africa’s economic pressures—low growth, unemployment, rising debt-service costs, and aging infrastructure—are pushing more citizens toward crypto, with growth averaging around 0.39% from 2020 to 2024.

As of July, SA’s three largest crypto exchanges combined serve 7.8 million users, holding roughly $1.5 billion in custody at the end of 2024.

The broader EM risk pattern shows twin-deficit economies like SA are particularly vulnerable to capital flight driven by stablecoins.

There is a structural shift toward USD-backed stablecoins as the main trading pair on SA platforms, due to lower price volatility compared with unbacked crypto assets.

Trading volumes for crypto assets have surged, with USD-backed stablecoins driving activity from under 4 billion rand in 2022 to about 80 billion rand by October 2025.

SARB’s 2025 Financial Stability Reports flag digital assets and stablecoins as a new risk to financial stability amid rising crypto adoption in SA.

Rapid stablecoin adoption poses risks to emerging-market banks, reinforcing the warning about financial stability from digital assets.

The central bank underscores crypto assets and stablecoins as ongoing risks in SA’s financial stability landscape amid growing adoption.