At the Moneyweb 2026 Money Summit in Sandton, Rob Downes, head of digital assets at Absa Corporate and Investment Banking, and Carel de Jager, chief executive of blockchain analytics firm Sixpence, warned that bitcoin speculation is no longer the main driver of crypto activity in South Africa.
Downes told the audience that stablecoin flows across the ten African markets where Absa operates have more than doubled in the past four years and now exceed $500 billion. He added that stablecoins now account for the majority of crypto transaction volumes in the region. “For us as a bank, thinking about foreign exchange flows and trade finance, our clients are looking at using stablecoins,” he said. “They are using stablecoins already.”
Stablecoins are crypto assets designed to track an underlying currency, such as the rand or the US dollar. Unlike bitcoin, their purpose is not primarily price appreciation but the cheap and rapid movement of value. This makes them attractive for businesses that need to move money across borders or settle invoices quickly.
Absa has developed its own bank-backed stablecoin, although it is not yet being actively traded. The bank also holds the rand reserves that back ZARsc, the stablecoin issued by Supercoin, a subsidiary of New York-listed Super Group. According to Downes, several million rands worth of ZARsc tokens are in circulation, with an equivalent amount held in segregated accounts at Absa and independently verified. He stressed that this backing is critical because most stablecoins are issued by private companies rather than commercial or central banks, leaving consumers exposed to the risk that the issuer may not have sufficient reserves to redeem the tokens.
Regulatory uncertainty
Downes warned that the South African Reserve Bank’s proposed exchange-control rules for crypto assets could limit the business-to-business use of stablecoins. The regulator is considering treating the transfer of crypto assets from a private wallet to an exchange as a cross-border transaction, which would bring traditional exchange-control requirements into play. De Jager argued that such a regime could cut South Africa off from a fast-growing, machine-driven economy. “We are creating a regime where we basically cut off that part of the global economy entirely,” he said.
Both speakers agreed that the shift away from bitcoin is not a temporary blip. Sixpence’s analysis shows that bitcoin-related activity among South Africans has fallen to a fraction of the levels seen in 2019 and 2020, while total crypto transaction volumes have remained broadly steady. The gap has been filled by stablecoins, suggesting that crypto is moving beyond speculation towards practical uses such as payments, remittances and cross-border transfers.
De Jager also highlighted the emerging role of artificial-intelligence agents that will transact independently on the internet, using stablecoins because they are easy to access and operate around the clock. He warned that imposing traditional exchange-control requirements on these transactions could prevent South Africa from participating in that future.
The summit also touched on tokenisation, the process of dividing ownership of real-world assets into digital units that can be traded on a blockchain. Downes said tokenisation can widen access to investments that were previously illiquid or only available to wealthier investors, and can accelerate settlement, allowing investors to receive payment almost immediately rather than waiting several days. He cited examples of tokenised gold, silver and other commodities, as well as South African ventures that have raised finance against wine production and agricultural yields.
De Jager cautioned that enthusiasm for tokenised assets is outpacing market demand. He noted that credible custodians, auditors and legal structures are needed to prove that the underlying asset exists and genuinely backs the token. He expects adoption to accelerate over the next 12 to 18 months as this supporting infrastructure develops.
For SMEs, the message is clear: stablecoins could become a cheaper, faster way to settle invoices, pay suppliers in other African markets, or send remittances without the delays and costs of traditional banking channels. However, firms should monitor the regulatory landscape closely, as new exchange-control rules could affect how they can use these assets.
Read the full Moneyweb podcast and transcript at Moneyweb. For more analysis on crypto trends in South Africa, visit our Markets & Finance section.
