As more African countries move closer to regulating crypto, the next logical step would be to closely monitor transactions involving crypto assets that have previously blindsided these countries.
South Africa issued the first set of crypto licences in April 2024 to 59 exchanges, including market leaders Luno and VALR. Now, the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), the country’s anti-money laundering regulator, has issued Directive 9, mandating that crypto platforms must verify the identities of both senders and recipients in cryptocurrency transactions.
The directive aligns with the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) “travel rule,” a global standard aimed at combating money laundering and terrorist financing. Compliance is part of South Africa’s efforts to exit FATF’s greylist.
Starting from April 30, 2025, FIC will introduce a tiered system—based on transaction value—to collect information on people and organisations that send and receive crypto.
For transfers under R5,000 ($277), it has directed crypto platforms to record the names and wallet addresses of the sending and receiving parties.
For crypto transactions that exceed this amount, the crypto exchanges must record and submit personal details of the senders and receivers, their account information, residential addresses, wallet addresses, and any valid means of identification used during KYC.
Intermediary platforms that help crypto companies provide on-ramp and off-ramp services must also securely transmit and store this data to ensure money can be traced.
South Africa is not acting alone on this. A few other countries, like Nigeria and Kenya, have previously shown interest in closely monitoring crypto transactions. South Africa, too, will tax crypto users.
Crypto—dubbed the dark horse of financial assets—is notorious for being untraceable, so governments cannot monitor what happens in or out of there.
In line with this, the regulation also requires platforms to monitor and gather extra information on high-risk transactions involving unhosted wallets to prevent financial crime while protecting user privacy and data.
South Africa, along with 13 other African countries, is on the FATF Greylist. Exiting the greylist will help South Africa improve its international financial reputation and increase its chances of attracting foreign investment.
