Catenaa, Tuesday, September 15, 2026-A coalition of South African crypto companies and industry groups has launched a campaign against proposed cross-border digital-asset rules that it says could restrict business payments, self-custody and investment in the country.
The group, called CATASTROPHE, brings together regulated Crypto Asset Service Providers, or CASPs, along with lawyers, economists, academics, technology companies and members of the public.
Its members include VALR, Luno, AltCoinTrader and EasyEquities.
The coalition was formed in response to draft regulations published by South Africa’s National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank, or SARB.
CATASTROPHE is urging regulators to adopt what it describes as a technology-neutral approach to cross-border financial activity.
The coalition says two elements of the draft framework are particularly problematic.
The first concerns the use of crypto assets for international business payments.
According to CATASTROPHE, South African companies would be prevented from using regulated crypto infrastructure for cross-border transactions that would otherwise be permitted through traditional financial channels.
The group argues that such restrictions could leave domestic businesses at a disadvantage compared with competitors able to use stablecoins and other blockchain-based payment rails.
The second concern involves transfers between locally regulated crypto platforms and self-hosted wallets.
Under the coalition’s interpretation of the draft rules, individuals could withdraw crypto assets from a South African CASP into a wallet they control themselves.
However, sending those assets back from the wallet to a regulated South African platform would be treated as non-permissible.
CATASTROPHE says such a structure would effectively create a one-way route out of the regulated domestic crypto system.
The coalition argues that users could respond by shifting activity toward overseas platforms or less transparent channels rather than abandoning crypto transactions entirely.
Its campaign warns that restrictive implementation could affect jobs, investment and tax revenue.
Those estimates, including claims involving billions of rand and large numbers of affected users, originate from the coalition and were not independently quantified in the announcement.
CATASTROPHE is instead proposing that regulators treat equivalent economic activities consistently regardless of the technology used to carry them out.
Under its approach, banks, authorised dealers and authorised crypto service providers could remain subject to different operational frameworks while facing comparable permissions and reporting obligations for similar cross-border transactions.
The coalition linked that argument to comments made by SARB Governor Lesetja Kganyago during the MTN Group Fintech 2026 Summit.
Kganyago said similar payment activities should face similar regulatory expectations whether they are performed by banks or fintech companies.
CATASTROPHE argues the same principle should extend to blockchain-based cross-border payments.
The dispute comes as stablecoins increasingly move beyond crypto trading into payments, settlement and treasury operations.
Businesses in several markets use dollar-linked tokens to move funds between exchanges, payment providers and counterparties without relying solely on conventional correspondent banking networks.
Advocates argue these systems can reduce settlement times and improve payment transparency.
Regulators, however, continue to weigh those benefits against concerns involving capital controls, anti-money laundering rules, consumer protection and financial stability.
Those tensions are especially relevant in South Africa, where exchange controls govern how money moves across national borders.
The draft regulations are therefore being debated not only as crypto rules but as part of the country’s wider capital-flow framework.
CATASTROPHE says South Africa risks falling behind other financial centers if blockchain payment infrastructure receives more restrictive treatment than traditional financial rails.
The coalition pointed to growing investment by global payments companies in stablecoin technology.
Stripe and Mastercard have both expanded their exposure to stablecoin-related infrastructure, while Visa and major financial institutions have announced blockchain settlement initiatives.
The coalition argues South African companies should be allowed to participate in similar developments under regulated conditions.
It also claims some foreign investment decisions involving South Africa have been delayed while companies wait for clarity on the proposed framework.
No independent figures were provided in the campaign announcement to verify the scale of those delayed investments.
The debate also touches on self-custody, one of the more contested areas of digital-asset regulation.
Self-hosted wallets allow users to control their own private keys rather than keeping assets with an exchange or other intermediary.
Regulators globally have struggled with how to apply identity, reporting and transaction-monitoring requirements when assets move between regulated platforms and wallets not controlled by financial institutions.
Industry groups generally argue that self-custody itself should remain legal while higher-risk transactions can be addressed through monitoring and reporting rules.
CATASTROPHE’s campaign takes a similar position, arguing that transfers back into regulated platforms should not automatically be blocked.
The coalition says restricting those transfers could discourage users from returning assets to supervised domestic providers.
South Africa has already moved further than many countries in bringing crypto businesses into its financial regulatory system.
CASPs operate under licensing requirements, placing much of the country’s crypto industry within a formal supervisory structure.
The current dispute therefore centers on how those regulated firms should interact with international payment systems and privately controlled wallets.
CATASTROPHE is calling on individuals and businesses to support its campaign before the public consultation closes on September 30.
The coalition says it will dissolve once its campaign for revised capital-flow rules has concluded.
The final outcome will depend on whether South Africa’s Treasury and central bank modify the draft framework after public consultation.
For the country’s crypto industry, the question is whether cross-border digital-asset activity will be treated as another regulated financial rail or subjected to tighter restrictions because it operates through blockchain infrastructure.
