JUST IN: South Africa proposes rules that could force residents to sell their Bitcoin to the government.
Under the draft "Capital Flow" regime, any holdings above a set limit must be offered to the Treasury within 30 days.
NEW: South Africa's National Treasury proposes draft regulations requiring crypto holders to declare assets above a set threshold and hand over private keys to enforcement officers on demand, carrying fines and up to five years in prison for non-compliance.
South Africa's Exchange Control Regulations of 1961 are rules from the apartheid era. Since then, the US, the UK, France, Spain, Finland, Taiwan, Singapore and many more countries have abolished their exchange controls and prospered.
Nelson Mandela explicitly envisioned a South Africa without exchange control regulations.
As president, in his 1996 State of the Nation Address, he declared: "In order to improve the investment climate, our monetary authorities are reviewing, on an on-going basis, the timing and pace of lifting existing exchange controls. For us, it is not a matter of whether, but of when, these controls will be phased out."
That was thirty years ago.
Former Reserve Bank Governor, the late Tito Mboweni, said in 2005, “For all intents and purposes exchange controls have become purposeless."
Even Dr Gerhard de Kock, who served as Governor of the South African Reserve Bank during the late apartheid era, said exchange controls "keep more money out than in and work when you don’t need it, and not when you do.”
VALR will always abide by the law. And we will work with the regulators to find a framework that works for South Africa.
But my sincere wish would be for South Africa to be emancipated from these regulations that were meant for a previous age.
For those asking where I stand on the draft Capital Flow Management Regulations; I've been heads-down on this since the day they were published.
I made a deliberate choice not to post publicly first. The stakes here are too significant for personal performative noise. What this moment needs is substance that lands with the people who will redraft the final text.
What I can share: I've prepared a detailed 9,000 word submission to National Treasury and the SARB in my personal capacity, covering the Bitcoin vs crypto distinction, the gap between the promised risk-based framework and the drafted permission-based one, the constitutional vulnerabilities (property, privacy, non-self-incrimination, just administrative action), the duplication of the existing FSCA and FIC frameworks, and the economic consequences for financial inclusion, capital formation, listed entities, Bitcoin mining, and SADC remittances 😅
That submission is now in the hands of senior decision makers at both institutions. I am in direct, ongoing engagement on the substance.
I understand the impulse to go loud. In some moments it's the right call. In this one, I believe a considered submission from someone with (meager) institutional standing, delivered through the right channels at the right time, does more for the community and the country than another X thread.
BUT our industry needs both; visible public pressure and substantive engagement behind the scenes. I'm doing the second. Others are doing the first. BOTH matter so please keep encouraging all to submit their responses.
I'll share more when the time is right. For now: the work is happening 🙌
Your Action Required: Draft Capital Flow Management Regulations 2026
National Treasury has published draft Capital Flow Management Regulations, 2026, for public comment. We believe it is important that you understand the proposed Regulations and have the opportunity to contribute constructively.
https://t.co/AdWQJpr14i
🚨Bitcoin is under attack in South Africa 🇿🇦
The TL;DR: South Africa's Treasury dept. has published new draft regulations that would bring Bitcoin & crypto under strict capital controls.
What does that mean?
🔍 You have to declare your holdings above a threshold
🤯 Buy, sell, trading requires permission over threshold
👨⚖️ Gov wants ability to demand access to private keys
⛓️ Possible jail time if you refuse
You can read the full article here: https://t.co/euUKuZjuFO
My two cents worth is that the South African government continues to push for strict capital/asset controls to avoid capital flight from the country.
The power of Bitcoin is its permissionless-ness and censorship resistance. This is the apparatus of control doing its best to prevent us from using decentralized money.
I would love to hear from some prominent players in SA - @farzamehsani@staffordmasie@SovereignCarel@MoneyBadgerPay@fluffypony@vryfokkenou
Great recap from @capecryptoSA
🚨 THREAD: SA's National Treasury & SARB want to effectively end self-custody of crypto at meaningful scale.
No parliamentary vote needed. Just ministerial decree. Comment window closes 16 May 2026.
Here's what's at stake. 🧵
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Bumping this up:
Here are Zimbabwe's stock market returns for the last 5 years:
2019: 57%
2020: 103%
2021: 312%
2022: 87%
2023: 449%
2024: 903% (ZWL currency)
One would think Zimbabwe is the new bastion for growth and innovation in the world after looking at these numbers.
One would be wrong.
Here is Zimbabwe's M2 Money Supply growth numbers over the same period.
2020 - 475%
2021 - 131%
2022 - 250%
2023 - 710%
2024 - 692%
The vast majority of index returns are a function of money printing and currency devaluation, not productivity growth.
The S&P 500 when priced in Gold made almost no returns from 2004 to to 2020 yet when priced in US Dollars has grown at a CAGR of 7.8% during the same period.
Over that same period the USD money supply expanded at 7.33%.
These are not a series of coincidences. Most of the returns of the stock market aren't because stocks are getting more valuable, it’s the currency getting less valuable.