News, data and analysis on tokenized assets, market design and digital economic systems.
Crypto assets have been financial products requiring an FSCA licence since October 2022, with 300 of 512 applications approved by January 2026, while dedicated stablecoin and tokenization frameworks are still being developed.
Crypto assets were declared financial products under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act in October 2022, requiring anyone advising on or intermediating crypto assets to hold an FSCA licence. In an update dated January 21, 2026 the FSCA reported 512 crypto asset service provider applications received since June 1, 2023, of which 300 were approved, 14 declined and 121 withdrawn, with 77 still under review; it had initiated 81 investigations into suspected unlicensed activity, 56 of which remained ongoing. The Financial Intelligence Centre's Directive 9 travel rule took effect in April 2025. Crypto assets remain outside legal tender, and the Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group and National Treasury are still developing dedicated frameworks for stablecoins, tokenization and exchange-control treatment.
| Framework | Status | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| FSCA declaration of crypto assets as financial products under the FAIS Act | In force | 19 October 2022 | Brings advice and intermediary services in crypto assets within the FAIS licensing regime, with a transitional application window that closed November 30, 2023. |
| FSCA crypto asset service provider licensing | In force | 1 June 2023 | As reported January 21, 2026: 512 applications received, 300 approved, 14 declined, 121 withdrawn, 77 under review; 81 investigations opened into unlicensed activity with 56 ongoing. |
| Financial Intelligence Centre Act Schedule 1 designation of crypto asset service providers | In force | 19 December 2022 | Makes CASPs accountable institutions with registration, risk management and reporting duties. |
| FIC Directive 9 (travel rule for crypto asset transfers) | In force | 30 April 2025 | Requires originator and beneficiary information for crypto asset transfers by accountable institutions. |
| IFWG Crypto Assets Regulatory Working Group position paper | Guidance | 11 June 2021 | Sets the phased approach followed since: AML designation, FAIS product declaration, then prudential and stablecoin work. |
| National Treasury and SARB work on stablecoins, tokenization and exchange control | Proposed | 19 February 2025 | Ongoing policy development; no dedicated stablecoin or tokenization statute in force as of July 2026. |
Every development we have evidenced under South Africa, newest first.
Yellow Card closed a $40m strategic round on 4 August 2026 from SC Ventures by Standard Chartered, the Sony Innovation Fund, Polychain Capital and Blockchain Capital, taking total equity financing past $120m. The money goes to Global USD Accounts, its dollar account for businesses, and to extending its stablecoin rails into Latin America and the Asia-Pacific.
Quidax said on 28 July 2026 that its stablecoin payment infrastructure now reaches more than 21 countries and 14 currencies, with corridors across nine African markets including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Côte d'Ivoire alongside destinations such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, China and the United Arab Emirates. USDT, XAUT and USAT are among the supported stablecoins. The company holds an approval-in-principle as a digital assets exchange from Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission rather than a full registration.
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority declared a crypto asset to be a financial product under paragraph (h) of the definition in section 1 of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 2002, published as General Notice 1350 of 2022. The effect was to bring firms that advise on or intermediate in crypto assets within the FAIS licensing regime.
The Crypto Assets Regulatory Working Group of South Africa's Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group, whose members include the South African Reserve Bank and National Treasury, published a position paper stating that crypto assets would be brought into the South African regulatory perimeter in a phased and structured manner. It replaced the group's earlier April 2020 paper as the reference point for later financial-sector conduct and exchange-control measures.
SC Ventures, the Sony Innovation Fund, Polychain Capital and Blockchain Capital back the pan-African payments company's dollar-account business, taking its equity financing past $120m as it moves into Latin America and the Asia-Pacific.
The exchange holding Nigeria's first provisional digital asset approval says businesses can now settle in 14 currencies across nine African markets and beyond, a bet that regulated rails can undercut some of the world's costliest payment corridors.
Mastercard and the African digital-asset platform Yellow Card announced a partnership on 7 May 2026 to build stablecoin-based payment and settlement rails across Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
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