The recent judgment in Standard Bank v South African Reserve
Bank addresses a long-standing debate in South African law: namely,
whether cryptocurrencies constitute "capital" for
purposes of Regulation 10(1)(c) of the Exchange Control
Regulations, issued in terms of section 9 of the Currency and
Exchanges Act No. 9 of 1933 ("the
Regulations").
The question was brought before the court by the Standard Bank
of South Africa Limited ("Standard
Bank"), challenging the South African Reserve
Bank's ("SARB's") forfeiture of
funds linked to cryptocurrency transactions initiated by Leo Cash
and Carry (Pty) Ltd ("LCC"). Standard Bank, a secured
creditor of LLC, argued, amongst other things, that the forfeiture
was not justified as cryptocurrency should not be regarded as a
form of capital for the purposes of the exchange control
regime.
