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Economist Dawie Roodt Warns South Africans May Drop Local Currency as Crypto Rules Tighten

A South African economist believes the government’s planned rules for cryptocurrencies are impractical and an overreach of control, and will likely have negative consequences.

  • Key Takeaways:

  • On May 15, the National Treasury defended its new crypto rules against claims of asset seizure in South Africa.
  • Dawie Roodt warns that the harsh capital rules will backfire, driving 100% of local users to cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.
  • SA regulators will release a cross-border crypto manual next for public comment to define upcoming rules.

The Push Toward Decentralized Tech

South Africa’s continued reliance on exchange controls will push citizens toward cryptocurrencies and stablecoins unless the system is dismantled, Efficient Group director and chief economist Dawie Roodt has said. He said the blockchain technology has already made it easier and cheaper for people to move money across borders while giving them more direct control over their assets.

The economist believed that any effort by the government or the central bank to prevent this change would eventually be unsuccessful.

Roodt stated, frustrated that others didn’t seem to grasp how much things had changed with new technologies, that they were no longer able to hinder his progress.

Roodt was commenting on Treasury’s proposed Capital Flow Management Regulations, which include new reporting requirements for crypto holders and provisions that critics say could allow the state to expropriate digital assets.

As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, under the proposed regulations, residents holding crypto above an unspecified threshold would be required to declare it and could be compelled to sell it to the government. The regulations will also empower officials to search and seize if they suspect a breach, while offenders face possible jail time.

Roodt said such measures are unenforceable because regulators cannot compel people to reveal private keys or access to self‑custodied wallets.

He thought the idea was ridiculous, wondering how anyone could expect him to fall for it. He explained they were trying to pressure him into revealing his passwords and granting access to his phone or computer.

He argued that the nature of blockchain technology renders traditional foreign‑exchange controls obsolete. If South Africa does not abolish them, he said, people will increasingly opt out of the rand.

He stated that if the situation doesn’t improve, he’ll switch away from the rand and continue using other currencies, as he feels he has more control with those options.

Financial Inclusion vs. State Control

According to the economist, the proposed rules show the government is prioritizing control over flexibility and change.

He believes their goal is total control, but they clearly don’t grasp what we’re accomplishing.

He acknowledged that crypto can facilitate criminal activity but said the benefits — including low‑cost global transfers and access to financial tools for people without banking services — far outweigh the risks.

“Imagine people who do not have access to a banking system somewhere in rural Africa, and they start using these stablecoins,” he said. “Now, all of a sudden, they’ve got very low transaction fees, and they can send their money all over the world, 24/7.”

Large institutions are already using blockchain for wholesale transactions, he added, noting that Mastercard and Visa have begun investing in stablecoin infrastructure.

The National Treasury has rejected claims that the draft regulations are intended to seize private crypto holdings.

In a statement on May 15, Treasury said the rules “do not intend to criminalise the possession of crypto assets or to apply the Regulations retrospectively.”

A separate draft manual on cross‑border crypto transactions will be released for public comment, outlining which activities qualify as cross‑border flows and what obligations will apply to authorized service providers.

Treasury said concerns about forced disposals of crypto, gold or foreign currency are misplaced, adding that such measures would apply only “under limited circumstances, such as where an offence has been committed.”

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2026-05-27 08:07