South African Central Bank to Reportedly Introduce New Crypto Regulations

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) — the country’s central bank — is purportedly going to impose new regulations for the use of digital currencies in a bid to deter users from evading currency controls.

As local business-focused publication Business Report reported on Dec. 2, SARB’s deputy governor, Kuben Naidoo, said that the new rules will be implemented in the first quarter of 2020, following a five-year-long series of consultations on the matter.

Naidoo’s statements followed a decision of FirstRand Bank — one of the largest financial institutions in South Africa — to discontinue providing banking services to digital currency exchanges in late November. FNB reportedly blamed regulatory uncertainty for the move.

The blockchain and crypto communities have already responded to the idea of further controls on cryptocurrency. South African blockchain development community SA Crypto told Business Report:

“The implications of the Sarb clamping down on cryptocurrency use…