South Africa's crypto economy grows 52% to $39.3 billion in one year

According to BeInCrypto, Chainalysis data shows that over the year ending June 2026, South Africa’s crypto economy grew 52% to $39.3 billion, with increases across all tracked activities. Commercial payments, including those from South African merchants and P2P traders, reached $8.34 billion, growing faster than institutional activity ($1.29 billion in inflows). Stablecoin inflows via P2P channels in Sub-Saharan Africa reached $14.6 billion, matching Bitcoin’s volume.
On August 3, South Africa’s Department of Finance and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) released a draft regulation on cryptocurrency asset management, stipulating that individuals may only transfer cryptocurrency assets abroad through authorized local service providers, within their existing offshore limits, while businesses are prohibited from cross-border transfers of cryptocurrency assets. As of March 31, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has issued licenses to 310 cryptocurrency asset service providers, though these entities still require separate authorization from the SARB. On October 21, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana stated that, following the receipt of thousands of public comments, the Department of Finance aims to release a revised second draft, though no timeline has yet been announced.