On 1 June 2026, the Gauteng High Court (Wilson J) held in Mangundhla and Another v South African Reserve Bank and Others (No. 2022-029979) that Bitcoin “constitutes both money and capital” under the “Exchange Control Regulations of 1961, (Regulations)” and that transferring crypto assets to foreign exchange wallets amounts to the unlawful export of capital. The court dismissed the review application against forfeiture orders totalling about R6-million, with costs on scale C. The contrary decision in Standard Bank v SARB 2025 (5) SA 289 (GP) was dismissed as “clearly wrong”.

The court defined “capital” as any financial asset capable of holding value or serving as a medium of exchange (para. 13). Applying this test, Bitcoin…