South Africa Proposes New Crypto Regulations with Potential Penalties

South Africa's National Treasury has released draft regulations aimed at incorporating cryptocurrency into existing exchange controls. According to NS3.AI, these proposed rules could impose penalties of up to R1 million or five years in prison for non-compliance. The draft legislation would empower officers to demand passwords, PINs, or private keys necessary to access crypto assets, with refusal constituting a criminal offense. Residents holding Bitcoin (BTC) or other cryptocurrencies above a threshold set by the Minister of Finance would be required to declare their holdings within 30 days. Additionally, larger trades would be restricted to authorized providers. However, the Treasury has yet to disclose the specific threshold amounts. The comment period for these draft regulations presents conflicting deadlines, with dates set for 10 June 2026 and 18 May 2026. This discrepancy has raised concerns among stakeholders about the clarity and implementation timeline of the proposed rules.