South Africa gazettes draft Capital Flow Management Regulations, crypto included for the first time

The National Treasury published the Draft Capital Flow Management Regulations 2026 for public comment in April 2026, replacing the Exchange Control Regulations of 1961 and bringing crypto assets formally within South Africa's capital flow framework for the first time. The draft reclassifies crypto assets as capital, requires approval for cross-border digital asset transfers, and establishes an administrative penalties regime.

Rebuilding a 1961-era exchange control framework to include crypto assets signals that South Africa treats digital assets as ordinary regulated capital rather than an exception. The sector broadly welcomed the resulting legal certainty.

With the FSCA licensing CASPs, the FIC drafting Travel Rule guidance, and CARF in effect from 1 March, the CFM regulations address the remaining open area: cross-border flows.