Campaign Archives

This page lists all previous advocacy campaigns run by the BitcoinZAR Advocacy Group. Each entry records the regulatory issue we addressed, the key dates, community participation, and the outcome of our coordinated public comment efforts. Our mission remains the same: to protect and promote sensible, Bitcoin-friendly policies in South Africa by mobilising the local community to submit high-quality, constructive feedback on draft laws and regulations that affect Bitcoin adoption, self-custody, and financial freedom.

Draft Capital Flow Management Regulations 2026

Submission End Date

30 June 2026

Total Submissions via BitcoinZAR AG

4103

Details

National Treasury published the draft on 17 April 2026. You can read the full draft regulations here. It brings all crypto-assets, including Bitcoin, into the capital flow management framework. This will affect cross-border Bitcoin transfers, self-custody moves, and everyday use by South African Bitcoiners.

Why This Campaign Mattered

The TL;DR
  1. All Bitcoin holdings must be declared to Treasury within 30 days. No sale or transfer afterwards without written permission. (Reg 10)
  2. Peer-to-peer Bitcoin trading is out. Only Treasury-authorised CASPs may buy, sell, borrow, or lend BTC. Selling sats to a friend breaches the reg. (Reg 3)
  3. Shops can’t accept Bitcoin directly. Merchant acceptance is a sale between non-CASPs and must route through an authorised CASP. (Reg 3)
  4. Bitcoin is explicitly not “currency”. It’s classified as “capital”, so spending BTC triggers capital movement rules. (Reg 1).
  5. Circular economies don’t fit. Every BTC transfer between non-CASPs is a restricted capital transaction. (Reg 3)
  6. Cross-border Bitcoin sends blocked. Any send outside SA needs Treasury permission. A seed phrase in your head still counts as being “in control”. (Reg 4)
  7. Treasury can demand your private keys. On forfeiture you must hand over passwords, PINs, and codes. Refusal is a criminal offence. (Reg 25(5))
  8. Pre-forfeiture freezes on suspicion. Treasury can attach or seize crypto on reasonable suspicion, no court order. Forced sale to Treasury at market rand value also applies. (Reg 8, 24)
  9. Expanded search powers at ports of entry and exit. Written crypto declaration mandatory on entry. Officers can search you, your luggage, mail, and parcels, and seize on suspicion. (Reg 4, 5)
  10. Penalties: R1m or the crypto’s value, whichever is greater, plus up to 5 years jail. (Reg 29)

The official media statement promises a “positive bias” with fewer pre-approvals and a focus only on “high-impact and high-risk” cross-border transactions. Yet the actual draft uses broad, catch-all language without defining key terms like thresholds, limits, or risk categories. This makes it impossible for citizens to understand what rules will actually apply to their Bitcoin use.

Instead of targeting genuine high-risk activity, the draft applies a blunt, permission-based system to all crypto-assets — treating personal self-custody Bitcoin transfers the same as large institutional flows. This directly undermines the modern, risk-based framework that was promised in the 2026 Budget.

Thousands of South Africans rely on Bitcoin to hedge against rand volatility, send cheaper remittances, and participate in the global economy. Adding unclear authorisation hurdles will increase costs, drive legitimate activity underground or offshore, and reduce Bitcoin’s usefulness at a time when many need it most.

The broad powers of attachment, blocking, and forfeiture engage sections 22 (freedom of trade), 25 (property rights), and 33 (just administrative action) of the Constitution. Any limitation of fundamental rights must be reasonable, proportionate, and clearly defined. The current draft falls short of this legal standard by relying on sweeping, undefined discretions.

Outcome

There has been no official response to date.