The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has issued a stark regulatory warning in its second financial stability report for 2025, officially identifying crypto assets and stablecoins as emerging risks to the country's financial stability. This designation highlights concerns over the borderless and digital nature of these assets, which could enable circumvention of foreign exchange regulations and capital flow management systems.
Key statistics underscore the urgency: combined users on South Africa's three largest crypto exchanges reached 7.8 million as of July 2025, with approximately $1.5 billion in assets held in custody at the end of 2024. The report notes a structural shift since 2022, where USD-pegged stablecoins have replaced Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as the primary trading pairs due to their lower volatility, raising new oversight challenges.
Regulatory gaps are a focal point, with the Financial Stability Board reporting in October that South Africa lacks a comprehensive framework for global stablecoins and has only partial regulations for cryptocurrencies. The SARB warned that risks may build up undetected without appropriate measures, potentially leading to enhanced monitoring, stricter reporting, or transaction limitations. This contrasts with the government's earlier bullish stance, such as the 2022 designation of crypto as a financial product by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority.
