South Africa plans to use stablecoins and blockchain as a way to promote equality

South African authorities have revealed the treasury’s plan to promote the adoption of digital payments for marginalized groups.

According to a treasury document published on Feb. 21, South Africa is considering stablecoins and blockchain as a way to improve the lives of marginalized groups.

The South African treasury announced an upcoming policy change for stablecoins detailing plans to promote digital payments as one such manoeuvre.

Officials in South Africa say they will explore the impact of blockchain-based tokenization on domestic financial markets via a working group that is expected to publish a document by December 2024. Officials say they hope to outline “the policy and regulatory implications of tokenization and blockchain-based financial market infrastructure.”

In October 2022, crypto assets were recognized as financial products in South Africa. The Financial Services Authority of South Africa (FSCA) announced changes to the country’s legal framework recognizing “digital representation of value” of crypto products.

In July 2023, South African authorities also announced that cryptocurrency exchanges in the country would need a license to operate. The FSCA added that plans to take “enforcement action” could see firms closed or fined if they continue to operate without a license after the deadline.

Earlier this year, Nigeria banned cryptocurrency exchanges Binance, OctaFX and Coinbase by instructing its telecommunications companies to block access to the websites.

Binance responded to the government’s request to help protect the foreign exchange market and the national currency by immediately limiting local users’ access to the P2P platform.