South African Central Bank warns! Crypto Assets and stablecoins pose emerging financial risks

The South African Central Bank has officially listed cryptocurrencies and USD stablecoins as a new source of financial risk in its latest financial stability report. The report points out that the number of domestic crypto users and the scale of transactions continue to rise, but the regulatory framework has not been完善, which may cause related risks to accumulate in the financial system and impact overall stability.

The scale of the encryption market is rapidly expanding, leading to an increase in exposure levels.

The South African Central Bank stated that the total number of users of the three largest crypto exchanges in the country reached 7.8 million by July 2025, while the platform's custodial assets reached $1.5 billion by the end of 2024.

The Central Bank views crypto assets as technology-driven financial innovation, but the rapid expansion in scale has increased the level of financial exposure.

Crypto Assets cross-border payments without thresholds may evade foreign exchange controls.

The report points out that crypto assets have the characteristics of “purely digital and convenient cross-border transmission,” which makes it possible for them to be used to bypass South Africa's existing foreign exchange control regulations, reducing the ability of official supervision over capital flows.

The Central Bank reminds that this type of capital movement increases the difficulty of supervision and may also create new sources of risk within the system.

The market is shifting towards stablecoins, and trading behavior is experiencing structural changes.

The Central Bank has observed that there has been a significant change in the South African market since 2022, namely:

“Dollar-pegged stablecoins have replaced Bitcoin and other mainstream coins, becoming the most commonly used trading pairs on domestic trading platforms.”

The report indicates that stablecoin price fluctuations are lower, making them more favored by local investors.

The regulatory gap is evident, and international organizations have pointed out that it is not yet完善.

The Financial Stability Board, FSB(, reported in October this year that South Africa currently has no regulatory framework for “global stablecoins” and only has partial regulations for general Crypto Assets.

The South African Central Bank also emphasized in this report that without a完善制度, relevant risks may gradually accumulate in the market, potentially affecting financial stability.

Differences in policy stance, the Central Bank's warning is different from the government's attitude.

The South African Central Bank report echoes the statements made by former Vice President Francois Groepe in 2017, who stated that if the government issues digital currency on its own, it could pose significant risks to financial stability.

However, the attitude of the South African government sector is quite different from that of the Central Bank, and is relatively more proactive. In 2022, the South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority )FSCA( officially classified Crypto Assets as financial products and began issuing licenses to encryption companies, allowing them to operate related businesses legally.

The views of the government and the Central Bank differ; one side emphasizes “industry regulation,” while the other focuses on “systemic risk,” resulting in South Africa's cryptocurrency policy showing parallel but not entirely consistent directions.

This article warns that the Central Bank of South Africa! Crypto Assets and stablecoins have become emerging financial risks, first appearing in Chain News ABMedia.