South Africa Defines Crypto as Financial Product

The definition could widen the adoption of crypto across a nation whose population exceeds four million

article-image

Pretoria, South Africa; Source: Shutterstock

share

key takeaways

  • The country’s financial regulator has issued a general notice defining crypto within a legal framework
  • Crypto, as defined by the regulator, must possesses cryptographic properties and not belong to a central bank

South Africa’s primary markets regulator formally established legal definitions for cryptoassets on Wednesday, joining other nations on the continent in their efforts to increase industry oversight.

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) issued its general notice, defining crypto as financial instruments under the country’s financial services act, which brings the asset class in line with other regulated financial products.

Its definition widens the possibility for greater adoption of crypto in South Africa, which had already allowed citizens to freely hold and trade them.

Specifically, the FSCA’s declaration defines crypto as a distributed ledger technology-based asset not issued by a central bank and employing cryptographic techniques.

The asset must also be tradable and capable of being stored electronically for the purpose of payment and investment or other forms of utility, the regulator said.

Under the Financial Advisory and Services Act 2002, a financial product is defined as any money-market instrument, company shares, securitized debt and securities, among other things.

Several nations across the continent have in place provisions for dealing with crypto, including The Central African Republic which adopted bitcoin as legal tender in February, becoming the second country in the world to do so.

Also in February, Botswana passed a bill to regulate the trading of digital assets in a bid to tighten anti-money laundering measures.

The stance towards crypto across various African countries remains divided, however. Nigeria, for instance, has a bank ban in place for trading digital assets despite the country launching its own central bank digital currency, the eNaira in October 2021.

Several nations, including Cameroon, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia also have bans in place against investing and using crypto, fearing the asset could pose a significant risk to their economic sovereignty.

Many other countries of the 54-member continent are yet to implement formal crypto regulations, with many of their central banks cautioning against their use.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates (5).png

Research

Outside of stablecoins, the value of tokenized assets sits below $20B, dominated by the following asset classes: private credit, US Treasuries, commodities, institutional alternative funds, stocks, non-US government debt, and corporate bonds. In the coming months, we see the greatest opportunities in the tokenization of illiquid markets, particularly private equity. However, the successful integration of offchain assets into blockchain ecosystems relies heavily on clear and consistent regulatory frameworks, with purpose-built infrastructure to support it.

article-image

10T Holdings’ Dan Tapiero predicts crypto listings on exchanges are a “mini step” for value moving onchain

article-image

The S&P 500 was mostly flat after a month of losses, and the Nasdaq has been slowly gaining

article-image

Movement Labs is once again at the core of some criticism after it declined to name a market maker offboarded by Binance

article-image

Experts discuss the future of crypto ETFs as Trump puts “money where his mouth is”

article-image

Luke Barwikowski took to Twitter to raise awareness about the threats against him and his family

article-image

David Chaum’s ecash in the 90s offers insights into balancing priorities in DeFi today