The South African Reserve Bank has listed cryptocurrencies and stablecoins as new financial risks.

PANews reported on November 26th, citing Bloomberg, that the South African Reserve Bank (SRB) has warned that crypto assets and stablecoins, due to a lack of comprehensive regulation, have become a new risk threatening the country's financial sector. In its semi-annual Financial Stability Assessment, the SRB noted that the digital and cross-border nature of cryptocurrencies allows them to circumvent existing foreign exchange control laws, while digital assets are not yet subject to regulation. Herco Steyn, the SRB's chief macroprudential expert, stated that the risk stems from an "incomplete regulatory framework." He anticipates progress next year but warned that if progress stalls, "regulation will be inadequate."

Currently, the South African Reserve Bank (SRB) is working with the Treasury to develop new regulations to oversee cross-border cryptocurrency trading and amend foreign exchange control laws to include digital assets. The SRB emphasizes that as cryptocurrency adoption increases, the domestic regulatory framework needs to be continuously adjusted to reflect market developments and risks. Data shows that the South African cryptocurrency industry is dominated by three major platforms: Luno, VALR, and Ovex. As of July, they had nearly 7.8 million registered users; and total assets reached 25.3 billion rand as of December 2024.