The global regulatory spotlight on stablecoins intensified this week, with warnings from South Africa about a missed $33 trillion opportunity and a U.S. banking lobby demanding tougher anti-money laundering (AML) rules for secondary markets.
In South Africa, Luno CEO James Lanigan cautioned that proposed Capital Flow Management Regulations could effectively bar local businesses from the fast-growing stablecoin payment corridor. Speaking as regulators extended the public comment period to June 30, 2026, Lanigan argued that unclear or restrictive rules would slow cross‑border payments, reduce capital inflows, hurt domestic companies, and shrink the country’s tax base. His warning is anchored in data showing stablecoins processed $33 trillion in payments and blockchain transfers in 2025 – nearly double Visa’s $17 trillion – underscoring their role as business payment infrastructure rather than mere speculative assets. The industry’s main concern is that the draft rules lack an instructional manual defining cross‑border crypto transactions, leaving firms unable to assess compliance obligations before committing resources.
Meanwhile in the United States, the Bank Policy Institute (BPI) and The Clearing House jointly urged FinCEN and OFAC to close what they call “significant” AML gaps in the stablecoin secondary market. In a comment letter, the banking groups argued that current oversight focuses too narrowly on issuers, while DeFi protocols, certain custodians, and exchanges – where most secondary trading occurs – face insufficient scrutiny. They called for a shift from checklist‑based compliance toward a dynamic, risk‑based approach that imposes clear obligations on all intermediaries. This push from traditional finance highlights a growing insistence that stablecoin regulation extend across the full transaction lifecycle, potentially raising operational costs for DeFi and exchanges but also boosting institutional confidence.
The parallel developments signal that regulators worldwide are grappling with the same core question: how to harness stablecoin efficiency without creating new avenues for illicit finance. As South Africa’s Treasury and Reserve Bank weigh industry pushback and U.S. federal agencies consider the banking groups’ recommendations, the outcomes are expected to set lasting templates for how digital dollar‑like tokens are traded, custodied, and integrated into mainstream financial systems.
