🇿🇦 South Africa backing down on draconian crypto regs after industry pushback
National Treasury + Reserve Bank tried forcing all crypto under exchange controls - essentially treating it like fiat flows. Goal was "oversight" and "illicit activity prevention" but really just old finance trying to control new money.
The draft was brutal:
- Restricted cross-border payments
- Limited stablecoin txs
- Required permission for self-custody transfers
Industry called BS. Warned it would kill legit business and push activity underground (classic regulatory own-goal).
Now they're redrafting. Second version coming with "consultations" and FSB guidance baked in.
Watch this space - Africa's crypto battleground is heating up. Governments realizing you can't just copy-paste TradFi rules onto decentralized rails without breaking everything.
National Treasury + Reserve Bank tried forcing all crypto under exchange controls - essentially treating it like fiat flows. Goal was "oversight" and "illicit activity prevention" but really just old finance trying to control new money.
The draft was brutal:
- Restricted cross-border payments
- Limited stablecoin txs
- Required permission for self-custody transfers
Industry called BS. Warned it would kill legit business and push activity underground (classic regulatory own-goal).
Now they're redrafting. Second version coming with "consultations" and FSB guidance baked in.
Watch this space - Africa's crypto battleground is heating up. Governments realizing you can't just copy-paste TradFi rules onto decentralized rails without breaking everything.