South Africa draft bill would tighten crypto capital controls

South Africa’s draft capital flow rules would bring crypto under exchange controls, with declaration duties, transaction limits and tougher penalties.

South Africa’s National Treasury has published draft rules that would bring cryptocurrency transactions under the country’s capital flow regime, requiring some holders to declare digital asset holdings and routing certain transactions through authorized providers or Treasury-approved channels.

Published on April 17, the draft Capital Flow Management Regulations bill proposes that crypto holders above a yet-unspecified threshold would be required to declare investments to the treasury within 30 days. In some cases, crypto acquired through an authorized provider for a stated purpose would have to be offered for sale if it was no longer needed for that purpose.

The draft is open for public comment until May 18 and would replace South Africa’s Exchange Control Regulations of 1961, marking the most significant overhaul of the country’s exchange control framework in decades.

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