A Rand that stays a Rand is not capital flight
Super Money SA (Pty) Ltd. has submitted its comments on the draft Crypto Asset Manual for Cross-Border Activities to the South African Reserve Bank's Financial Surveillance Department. Here is what we asked for, and why.
By Gideon Greaves, Managing Director, Supercoin
On 3 August 2026, National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank published the draft Crypto Asset Manual for Cross-Border Activities. It sets out, for the first time, how crypto assets may move in and out of South Africa, who may move them, and how that movement is authorised and reported.
We support it. A defined perimeter, a clear authorisation process and consistent reporting raise the standard for every participant. The draft also confirms two things we welcome: crypto assets held in South African custodial wallets are domestic, and so are transfers between Authorised Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASPs).
Not all crypto is the same
Our comments centre on one gap, and the authorities have named it themselves. The joint statement published with the draft notes that it does not yet distinguish between types of crypto asset. As drafted, a Rand stablecoin issued by a licensed South African company is treated the same way as an offshore dollar token, or a crypto asset with nothing behind it at all.
Those instruments do not carry the same risk. When a Rand stablecoin changes hands, even between a resident and a non-resident, the Rand reserve behind it stays in the South African banking system. What moves is a claim on that Rand. The rules should ask whether value has left the country, which depends on who owns it, where they live and what the underlying transaction is. The type of wallet it sits in should not answer that question on its own.
ZARsc is built to that description. Super Money SA issues it in South Africa, it is backed in Rand at a South African bank, and Moore provides independent monthly procedures with published reports.
The authorities have drawn this line before. The 2026 joint communication on Crypto Assets for Domestic Payment Purposes, from the Reserve Bank and the FSCA, recognised the potential of Rand-pegged stablecoins as a domestic payment instrument. We have asked for the same distinction in the cross-border framework. Without it, the tightest controls land on the instrument that keeps South African value in Rand, and people are pushed towards offshore dollar tokens instead.
What we asked for
- A defined category for Rand-referenced stablecoins. The criteria should be objective: who issues the stablecoin, how it is backed, how it is redeemed and how often its reserves are independently checked. A stablecoin that meets them would be treated as domestic when held by or moved between residents.
- A workable position on self-custody. A South African who moves a Rand stablecoin to a wallet they control, and still owns it, has not exported capital. They should also be able to bring it back to a licensed provider and redeem it in Rand, which the draft does not currently allow.
- A pathway for South African businesses. Exporters, importers and payroll providers already make many cross-border payments through their bank. Settling the same transaction through a licensed provider, with the same documentation, should not make it impermissible.
- A transition period. Licensed providers operating lawfully today should be able to keep operating while their applications are adjudicated, rather than stopping services on the day the Manual takes effect.
- Reporting designed around the data the rail already produces. Settlement through a licensed provider on a public blockchain leaves a permanent, time-stamped record that can support more automated reporting. The technical specifications should be published for comment before they take effect.
What is at stake
South Africans already pay more than almost anyone else to move money across borders. According to the World Bank's Remittance Prices Worldwide report, sending money from South Africa cost an average of 15.65% in Q3 2025. That makes it the most expensive country in the G20 to send money from, a position it has held in the World Bank's data for years. The cost falls hardest on the people who can least afford it.
South Africa has never waited for permission to lead in financial technology. In October 2022, the FSCA declared crypto assets a financial product under the FAIS Act, making South Africa one of the first countries in Africa to bring crypto into a formal licensing regime. Since licensing opened in June 2023, the FSCA has approved 300 Crypto Asset Service Providers. South Africa is home to one of the continent's largest and most developed fintech ecosystems, and the rest of Africa has long watched Johannesburg and Cape Town to see where financial innovation goes next.
Comments closed on 30 September. We have offered our technical and compliance teams to the Financial Surveillance Department to help develop the reporting specifications and the provisions for Rand stablecoins.
About Supercoin
Supercoin puts the Rand on rails. Its first product, ZARsc, is a Rand-pegged stablecoin issued onto Solana and listed on VALR, OVEX, Luno and Orca. Exchanges, platforms and businesses use it to move and settle Rands at any hour of any day. ZARsc is backed in Rand. Moore provides independent monthly procedures with published reports, Fireblocks secures custody and Chainalysis monitors activity on chain. The Supercoin wallet launches in early 2027, giving people one place to send, spend, top up and cash out. Supercoin is backed by NYSE-listed Super Group (SGHC) and starts in South Africa, with a family of stablecoins for Africa in view.
Supercoin is the trading name of Super Money SA (Pty) Ltd, an FSCA-licensed Crypto Asset Service Provider under FAIS Act 37 of 2002, FSP 53458. supercoin.co.za
Investing in crypto assets may result in the loss of capital. This article is commentary on a draft regulatory framework and does not constitute financial advice, nor a solicitation to buy, trade or invest in any crypto asset.
