Crypto Law Profile
South Africa’s FSCA declared crypto assets to be financial products under the FAIS Act, bringing crypto advice and intermediary services into FAIS licensing.
South Africa’s Declaration of a Crypto Asset as a Financial Product under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 2022 is the Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s core FAIS Act instrument for crypto-asset market conduct. Published in Government Gazette No. 47334 as General Notice 1350 of 2022, the declaration took effect on Oct. 19, 2022, the date of publication. It remains in force as the legal hook that brings crypto-asset advice and intermediary services within South Africa’s FAIS licensing and conduct framework.
The declaration defines a crypto asset as a digital representation of value that is not issued by a central bank, can be traded, transferred or stored electronically by natural and legal persons for payment, investment or other utility, applies cryptographic techniques and uses distributed ledger technology. Using paragraph (h) of the FAIS Act definition of financial product, the FSCA declared a crypto asset to be a financial product for FAIS purposes.
The practical effect is activity-based. A person that, as a regular feature of business, renders financial services in relation to crypto assets must either be authorised as a financial services provider under section 8 of the FAIS Act or act as a representative of an authorised FSP under section 13. The FAIS framework therefore applies to advice and intermediary services, not to every peer-to-peer transfer or every use of blockchain technology.
The declaration was accompanied by FSCA FAIS Notice 90 of 2022, a transitional exemption from section 7(1) of the FAIS Act. Existing providers rendering financial services in relation to crypto assets could rely on the exemption if they applied to the FSCA between June 1, 2023 and Nov. 30, 2023 and met the notice’s conditions. For providers in that category, the exemption was framed to remain valid until the relevant licence application was approved or declined.
South Africa has since moved from declaration to active supervision. The FSCA continues to process crypto-asset FSP applications under the FAIS Act, including payment-type activities where the service falls within the FAIS definitions of advice or intermediary service. Editors should avoid describing the declaration as a full crypto statute: it is a conduct and licensing perimeter under FAIS, supported by later exemption, application-form, and supervisory materials.
A May 2026 joint communication by the South African Reserve Bank and FSCA clarified that crypto assets used for payments under the FAIS declaration are not payments under the National Payment System Act, currently fall outside that Act, and are neither money nor legal tender. The same communication states that the FAIS declaration was not intended to legitimise crypto assets as currency or acceptable tender.
The joint communication is important for taxonomy and editorial linking. Intermediaries facilitating crypto-asset payment-type activities, or giving advice related to crypto assets, must be authorised by the FSCA as FSPs where the activity falls within FAIS. But the communication distinguishes that FAIS authorisation from SARB oversight of payment, clearing and settlement systems under the National Payment System Act.
For Crypto Laws, this profile should be framed as a South Africa regulatory declaration rather than an act of Parliament. Its impact is to connect crypto-asset service activity to the existing financial-advice and intermediary-services regime while South Africa develops broader crypto, payments, and AML/CFT policy architecture. Related profiles should include South Africa’s FIC Act treatment of crypto asset service providers, the IFWG crypto-asset position paper, and any future National Payment System Act reforms addressing crypto assets or stablecoins.
Declares a crypto asset to be a financial product for purposes of the FAIS Act definition.
Defines crypto assets as non-central-bank digital value using cryptography and distributed ledger technology.
Crypto asset advice or intermediary services can require authorisation as an FSP or appointment as an authorised FSP representative.
Existing providers could rely on a temporary exemption if they applied between June 1 and Nov. 30, 2023 and met conditions.
FSCA policy materials apply product-agnostic conduct duties and address client funds, crypto custody and trust-property treatment.
SARB and FSCA clarified in 2026 that crypto assets are not legal tender and are not payments under the NPS Act.
FSCA published a draft declaration of crypto assets as financial products for public consultation.
General Notice 1350 of 2022 was published in Government Gazette No. 47334 and took effect on publication.
FSCA FAIS Notice 90 of 2022 created a temporary exemption from section 7(1) for qualifying existing providers.
Existing providers relying on the exemption could begin submitting crypto asset FSP applications to the FSCA.
The transitional application period for existing providers ended on Nov. 30, 2023.
SARB and FSCA clarified that crypto assets are not money or legal tender and are outside the NPS Act for now.
Financial Intelligence Centre, Financial Sector Conduct Authority, Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group, South African Reserve Bank
Crypto assets, Cryptocurrency, Stablecoins
This profile covers the FSCA’s FAIS Act declaration and related transitional licensing materials. It should not be framed as making crypto assets legal tender or as a complete crypto statute.
