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Crypto Corner: We’re no closer to figuring out what digital assets are in SA

Daily Maverick · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · · 833 words · By Lindsey Schutters
Legal Modernization Cryptocurrency Regulation Judicial Conflict
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What to know about Legal Modernization

Gauteng high court Judge Mandlenkosi Motha is no stranger to powerful paragraphs in his decisions, and he delivered a few, as the kids would say, bars in the 2025 judgment Mzansi’s crypto community was most anticipating.

Claims checked 12
Techniques found 2
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center80%
Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Gauteng high court Judge Mandlenkosi Motha is no stranger to powerful paragraphs in his decisions, and he delivered a few, as the kids would say, bars in the 2025 judgment Mzansi’s crypto community was most anticipating.

Why it matters

“The consequences of the massacre of Black people in Sharpeville reverberated inside the corridors of the Apartheid economy and shook the very foundations of the regime.

Common ground

To stem the tide of the resultant capital flight and a run on the rand, the apartheid regime passed the Exchange Control Regulations in 1961 (Excon), which, save for a few changes, is still in place… the vexed question is whether these 60-plus old Excon…

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Oversimplification: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-06-01-crypto-corner-were-no-closer-…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 90% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Oversimplification 70% confidence
Reducing a complex issue to a simplistic framing that distorts understanding.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing oversimplification helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6
help Insufficient Evidence 2
schedule Pending 2
info Single Source 1
verified Verified 1
info
Claim 1: “Leo Cash and Carry (LCC), a liquidated entity that had funnelled funds to foreign cryptocurrency exchanges like Huobi (now known as HTX)”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the LCC account is mentioned in the context of the SARB forfeiture case, the specific detail about it being a liquidated entity that funneled funds to Huobi (HTX) is not independently corroborated by the provided search results, which only discuss Huobi/HTX in general terms.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The cash or qian was a type of coin of China and the Sinosphere, used from the 4th century BC until the 20th century, characterised by their round outer shape and a square center hole (Chinese: 方穿; pi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cash_(Chinese_coin)
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web search NEUTRAL — Nov 17, 2025 · An ICIJ investigation traced tens of thousands of transactions and found crypto platforms awash with dirty money.
https://www.icij.org/investigations/coin-laundry/cryptocurre…
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web search NEUTRAL — After HUSD recovered the dollar peg, Huobi released a statement explaining to users what caused the issue in the first place.
https://www.facebook.com/cointelegraph/posts/after-husd-reco…
+ 1 more evidence source
help
Claim 2: “the South African Reserve Bank and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) clarified the status of crypto assets within the domestic payment system”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding a joint communication from the SARB and FSCA on this specific topic.
schedule
Claim 3: “Treasury is completely replacing the 1961 Exchange Control Regulations with the new Capital Flow Management Regulations of 2026”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 4: “ruling that crypto was not capital under Regulation 10(1)(c)”
CORROBORATED
The evidence confirms a High Court ruling in May 2025 stating that cryptocurrencies are not 'capital' under current exchange control laws.
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web search NEUTRAL — Rating 4.8(187,117)Feb 25, 2026 · In May 2025, the High Court of South Africa held that, under current law, cryptocurrencies are not “currency” or “capital” for exchange control ...
https://www.mexc.com/news/801869
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web search NEUTRAL — Dec 17, 2024 · THE 5PM NEWS HEADLINES Tuesday 17 December 2024. View the update, here...
https://www.facebook.com/CNC3Television/posts/the-5pm-news-h…
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web search NEUTRAL — Dec 5, 2018 · Illicit financial flows pose a contaminating effect on legal or legitimate financial transactions and increase the volatility of international ...
https://www.facebook.com/RevenueServicesLesotho/posts/illici…
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Claim 5: “Motha ruled that cryptocurrency was not money or foreign currency”
CORROBORATED
Web search results indicate a High Court ruling in May 2025 held that cryptocurrencies are not 'currency' or 'capital' for exchange control purposes, aligning with the claim regarding Judge Motha's ruling.
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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 14, 2026 · how i navigated the dishonor that came with leading the church in Nigeria into cryptocurrency dominion.
https://www.facebook.com/apostlejoelOg/posts/how-i-navigated…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 2, 2026 · A South African High Court ruled that bitcoin can be legally treated as “capital” and a “negotiable instrument” (a form of money) because it ...
https://news.bitcoin.com/trader-loses-1680-btc-fight-as-sout…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 3, 2026 · A South African High Court ruled June 1 that bitcoin qualifies as capital and a negotiable instrument, upholding seizure of trader Square ...
https://www.gncrypto.news/news/high-court-upholds-seizure-16…
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Claim 6: “Wilson ruled that bitcoin is capital”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources report that a High Court ruling (Judge Wilson) determined that Bitcoin qualifies as 'capital' and a 'negotiable instrument', contradicting the earlier Motha ruling.
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web search NEUTRAL — Azure OpenAI provides an implementation of OpenAI's Realtime API that enables low-latency, multimodal interactions with realtime audio and text processing through Azure's managed service. Use LiveKit'…
https://docs.livekit.io/agents/models/realtime/plugins/azure…
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web search NEUTRAL — Mar 20, 2026 · You can use the Realtime API via WebRTC, SIP, or WebSocket to send audio input to the model and receive audio responses in real time. Follow the instructions in this article to get star…
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry/openai/how-t…
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web search NEUTRAL — Mar 20, 2026 · You can use the Realtime API via WebRTC, session initiation protocol (SIP), or WebSocket to send audio input to the model and receive audio responses in real time.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry/openai/how-t…
schedule
Claim 7: “the FSCA declared crypto assets to be a financial product under the FAIS Act in 2022”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 8: “the apartheid regime passed the Exchange Control Regulations in 1961 (Excon)”
VERIFIED
Web search results explicitly state that the system of exchange control is contained in the Exchange Control Regulations issued in 1961.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Foreign exchange controls are various forms of controls imposed by a government on the purchase/sale of foreign currencies by residents, on the purchase/sale of local currency by nonresidents, or the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_exchange_controls
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The South African Futures Exchange (Safex) is the futures exchange subsidiary of JSE Limited, the Johannesburg-based exchange. It consists of two divisions; a financial markets division for trading o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Futures_Exchange
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Telkom (officially Telkom SA SOC Limited) is a South African wireline and wireless telecommunications provider, operating in more than 38 countries across the African continent. Headquartered in Centu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telkom_(South_Africa)
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 9: “Judge Stuart Wilson... in a judgment just over a year later, where the applicant (Square Mangundhla) used Luno accounts to purchase and transfer nearly R182-million worth of bitcoin to foreign cryptocurrency exchanges”
CORROBORATED
Three independent sources confirm the case of Square Mangundhla involving the transfer of nearly R182 million worth of Bitcoin (approx 1,680 BTC) to foreign exchanges via Luno accounts.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The case involved Mangundhla using his own and another person's Luno accounts to circumvent trading limits and move about 1 680 Bitcoin, worth nearly R182 million, to foreign crypto-currency exchanges…
https://www.itweb.co.za/article/is-bitcoin-money-two-courts-…
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web search NEUTRAL — The Bitcoin was worth just under R182 million and was transferred to wallets accessible through cryptocurrency exchanges registered outside South Africa, according to the judgment.
https://mybroadband.co.za/news/cryptocurrency/651592-judge-v…
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web search NEUTRAL — The case involved Square Mangundhla moving nearly 1,680 Bitcoin (worth about R182 million) to foreign crypto wallets, which the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) claimed was unlawful capital export wi…
https://sundayworld.co.za/news/high-court-declares-bitcoin-i…
help
Claim 10: “The notice said that crypto assets “are neither money as defined in the NPS Act, nor funds and are therefore not legal tender””
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to verify the specific wording of the notice regarding the NPS Act.
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Claim 11: “The South African Reserve Bank seized about R6-million in assets [in the Square Mangundhla case]”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources explicitly state that the SARB seized about R6 million in assets in the Square Mangundhla case.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 1, 2026 ... ... nearly R182-million worth of bitcoin to foreign cryptocurrency exchanges. The South African Reserve Bank seized about R6-million in assets.
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-06-01-crypto-co…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 5, 2026 ... ... Mangundhla and Fungai Dangaiso, have lost R6 million after a South African court ruled in favour of the South African Reserve Bank in a major ...
https://www.instagram.com/p/DZMjOXZlivS/
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web search NEUTRAL — 1 day ago ... This decision stems from a review application by Standard Bank against SARB forfeiture orders imposed due to alleged unauthorized exports of ...
https://www.facebook.com/Ngada.law/posts/️-a-recent-high-cou…
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Claim 12: “the South African Reserve Bank attempted to forfeit R16.4-million from a Standard Bank money market account linked to Leo Cash and Carry (LCC)”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (SAFLII, and two news reports) confirm that the SARB attempted to forfeit R16.4 million from a Standard Bank account linked to Leo Cash and Carry (LCC).
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is the central bank of South Africa. It was established in 1921, through the promulgation of the Currency and Bank Act of 10 August 1920. It was created as a dire…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Reserve_Bank
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The South African rand, or simply the rand, (sign: R; code: ZAR) is the official currency of South Africa. It is subdivided into 100 cents (sign: "c"), and a comma separates the rand and cents. The So…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_rand
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of commercial banks and other credit institutions in South Africa, as updated late 2024 by the Reserve Bank of South Africa.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_banks_in_South_Africa
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.