Regulatory position
The duties, the entity details and links to the public registers.
Maintained record
South African regulation, change by change.
A dated record of what changed, when it changed and what it meant for someone converting crypto assets to rand. Newest first. Each entry names the instrument so you can read the primary source instead of our summary of it. This page tracks South African instruments specifically; where a trade settles in another market, the position for that corridor is established before a quote is given.
Last reviewed: 18 August 2026
How this page is maintained
Last reviewed means that a person has re-read every instrument listed below and confirmed that nothing on this page has been superseded, amended or withdrawn. It does not mean that something changed on that date. Where nothing changed, the review date moves and the entries stay exactly as they were.
The page is maintained by our compliance officer, compliance officer — to be confirmed, and reviewed on a scheduled basis as well as whenever a new instrument is published. Entries are appended, never silently rewritten: if an entry is wrong we correct it and say so in the entry.
This is a summary written for clients of an OTC desk. It is not legal advice, it is not a complete statement of South African financial services law, and where an entry matters to a decision you are making, read the instrument itself or ask an attorney. If you believe an entry is wrong, write to support@conexus-crypto.com with the instrument and the correction, and we will check it.
2026 — Payments clarified, CARF live, and a larger allowance
3 August 2026 — Draft Crypto Assets Manual for cross-border activities published for comment
A draft manual setting out how crypto asset activity would be treated for exchange control purposes was published for public comment, with the comment period closing on 30 September 2026.
Instrument: South African Reserve Bank and National Treasury, draft Crypto Assets Manual, comment period to 30 September 2026
What it changed for you. Nothing yet. It is a draft, not law, and we do not apply it as law or let anyone rely on it as if it were. Read it as a signal of where exchange control is heading, not as permission for anything. Until it is finalised the position is unchanged: crypto is not a route for taking capital out of South Africa, and it is not a route for bringing value in.
28 May 2026 — Joint Communication 1 of 2026 on crypto assets used for payments
Confirms that facilitating a customer paying a merchant in crypto assets — property expressly included — is an intermediary service under the FAIS Act and requires a licence, and that a crypto asset is not money and not funds, placing the transaction outside the National Payment System Act 78 of 1998.
Instrument: Joint Communication 1 of 2026, 28 May 2026
What it changed for you. Two things. First, an unlicensed operator who offers to "pay your supplier in crypto" is now unambiguously carrying on a licensed activity without a licence. Second, an FSCA FAIS licence does not extend to crypto assets used for payments: it authorises the intermediary service and nothing more. You get no payment-system protection on the crypto leg — no recall, no chargeback, no settlement finality. Send to the wrong address and the law offers you nothing.
8 April 2026 — Single discretionary allowance raised to R2 million
The single discretionary allowance available to a South African resident individual was raised from R1 million to R2 million per calendar year.
Instrument: Exchange Control Circular 6/2026, 8 April 2026
What it changed for you. More room for legitimate offshore transfers, and none of it runs through us. The allowance is used through your bank as an authorised dealer. It does not become a crypto allowance: buying a crypto asset in order to move capital out of the country is still a contravention of the Exchange Control Regulations and still a criminal offence, at R2 million exactly as at R1 million.
1 March 2026 — South Africa adopts the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework
Reporting crypto asset service providers began collecting and reporting client and transaction information under CARF, with the first return due to SARS by 31 May 2027.
Instrument: OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, effective in South Africa from 1 March 2026; first return due to SARS by 31 May 2027
What it changed for you. Assume SARS will see it. Identity details, tax residence and transaction totals held by reporting providers reach the revenue authority, and from there other jurisdictions through exchange of information. Keep your own records, declare what you owe, and take the tax question to a registered practitioner before the return is due rather than after.
2025 — The Travel Rule goes live and the exam grace period ends
30 June 2025 — Regulatory examination exemption for crypto providers expires
The exemption that temporarily relieved key individuals and representatives of crypto asset service providers from writing the regulatory examinations came to an end.
Instrument: FSCA exemption relating to regulatory examinations for crypto asset service providers, expired 30 June 2025
What it changed for you. A licensed desk should now have key individuals who have written the examinations. It is a fair question to ask any desk, and the FSCA register will tell you who its key individuals are. There is no grace period left to point at.
30 April 2025 — FIC Directive 9 of 2024 brings the Travel Rule into force
Originator and beneficiary information must accompany crypto asset transfers between service providers, with no minimum threshold.
Instrument: FIC Directive 9 of 2024, in force 30 April 2025
What it changed for you. Expect to be asked who owns the destination address, and expect that answer to be transmitted with the transfer. Below R5,000 a reduced information set applies and need not be verified by the ordering institution — that is relief from verification, not anonymity, and the information is still sent and still kept for five years. Sending to somebody else's wallet became a conversation rather than an instruction.
2023 — Licensing opens, the exemption closes, advertising is reined in
30 November 2023 — Transitional exemption for unlicensed operators closes
The window in which an existing crypto asset service provider could operate while its licence application was pending came to an end.
Instrument: FSCA transitional exemption for crypto asset service providers, closed 30 November 2023
What it changed for you. From 1 December 2023 an unlicensed crypto desk in South Africa is simply operating unlawfully. This is the single most useful date on this page: it is why "are you licensed, and what is the FSP number" is now a reasonable opening question rather than an aggressive one.
1 June 2023 — FSCA licence applications open for crypto asset service providers
Crypto asset service providers could begin applying for Financial Services Provider licences with crypto asset permissions.
Instrument: FSCA licensing window for crypto asset service providers, opened 1 June 2023
What it changed for you. The public register started to contain crypto desks, which is what makes independent verification possible at all. Before this date there was nothing to look up. After it, a desk that cannot be found on the register has to explain why.
23 January 2023 — ARB Code of Advertising Practice, Section III clause 17
Crypto asset advertising must state that investing in crypto assets may result in the loss of capital, along with further requirements on balance and clarity.
Instrument: Advertising Regulatory Board, Code of Advertising Practice, Section III clause 17, 23 January 2023
What it changed for you. A practical filter for the reader. Any South African crypto advertisement promising a return, implying certainty, or omitting the capital-loss warning is in breach of the Code. Treat that as information about the advertiser. It is why the warning appears at the foot of every page here.
2022 — Crypto assets enter the regulatory perimeter
19 December 2022 — Crypto asset service providers become accountable institutions
Crypto asset service providers were added to Schedule 1 of the FIC Act as accountable institutions, bringing registration, a Risk Management and Compliance Programme, customer due diligence, five-year record keeping and reporting duties.
Instrument: Item 22 of Schedule 1 to the Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001, effective 19 December 2022
What it changed for you. This is the origin of every document we ask you for. Identity, address, source of funds and, for companies, beneficial ownership are legal obligations on us, not internal policy we could waive for a good client. A South African desk that offers to skip them is telling you what it is.
19 October 2022 — Crypto assets declared a financial product under the FAIS Act
The FSCA declared a crypto asset to be a financial product under paragraph (h) of the definition in section 1(1) of the FAIS Act 37 of 2002.
Instrument: General Notice 1350, Government Gazette 47334, 19 October 2022
What it changed for you. Everything else on this page follows from this one declaration. It is the reason a licence is required to buy and sell crypto assets for clients, the reason the General Code of Conduct governs how this website is written, and the reason there is a public register on which you can check us at all.
This is not legal advice
The entries above are a summary written for clients of this desk. They do not replace the instrument itself and they take no account of your circumstances. Our own regulatory position, and how to verify it independently, is set out on the compliance page.
Where to read more.
Crypto tax in South Africa
How SARS treats crypto assets, and what CARF changed from 1 March 2026.
Risk disclosure
The risks of transacting in crypto assets, stated plainly and without softening.
Ask what a change means for your trade.
If one of these entries affects a transaction you are planning, ask before you send anything. A trader will tell you plainly, including when the answer is that we cannot do it.
Investing in crypto assets may result in the loss of capital, as the value is variable and can go up as well as down. The information on this page is a summary, is current as at the last review date shown, and is not legal or tax advice.