South Africa's Cryptocurrency Market: when the interest of people and government coincide

The Republic of South Africa is one of the most economically developed countries of the African region. The country has rich mineral resources and has a relatively strong global position. In addition, the Republic of South Africa is the only African country participating in the G20. Like many other African countries, about the state of the cryptocurrency market in which we have already told, the population of South Africa is actively involved in digital assets trading.

As of mid-2022, more than 5.8 million residents of the country (9.44% of the total population of South Africa) were owners of cryptocurrencies. About 77% of South African cryptocurrency owners have an annual income of 450,000 rands or less. This suggests that cryptocurrencies are mainly owned by low- and middle-income citizens.

The vast majority of cryptocurrency owners belong to the age group of 18-44 years (83%). Only 7% of them are aged 55 and older. This suggests that cryptocurrencies are largely owned by South Africa millennials.

South Africa is one of the countries of the continent where the vast majority of the population are familiar with or have heard of cryptocurrencies. Surveys suggest that 86% of South African adults have heard of cryptocurrencies.

South Africans are increasingly considering cryptocurrency as a safe asset and an alternative to the national currency, with more than 46% of cryptocurrency owners having more than $10,000 in digital assets. A significant number of cryptocurrency owners (12%) also have more than $100,000 in cryptocurrency.

The majority of South African owners of cryptocurrencies (52%) already use them for purchases, which suggests that cryptocurrencies are increasingly becoming one of the forms of alternative payment for goods and services. The results of surveys and studies show that cryptocurrency payment services are common in a large number of retail outlets.

In October 2022, the Financial Supervisory Authority of South Africa classified cryptocurrency assets as financial products and announced that it plans to introduce special rules for currency control and licensing of companies engaged in cryptocurrency trading.

The first version of such a document, issued under the title "South African Declaration on Crypto Assets", was published back in November 2020. And in June 2021, a roadmap was presented, in which the main stages of changing the regulatory and legal financial framework were noted. According to this plan, in 2022, the National Treasury of South Africa confirmed its intention to declare cryptocurrency a financial product and strengthen monitoring and compliance with transaction requirements regarding cryptocurrencies.

And this is quite a logical and reasonable step. Given the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies in the country, many entrepreneurs will benefit from the integration of such payments into the traditional payment scheme. 81% of South African cryptocurrency owners agree that businesses will benefit from the official introduction of digital currencies.

IslamicCoin is the first project to provide the community with powerful financial technology that allows for seamless transactions, support innovation and charity. The project is 100% compliant with Shariah law and benefits the community. Developers focus on sustainable development and use technology and innovation to ensure financial sustainability.

"At the heart of Islamic finance is the prohibition on charging interest. Islamic finance has always been focused on not shifting most of the risks to one side of the financial relationship. In Islamic finance, balance and transparency of transactions should be observed, which can negatively affect our society," says Mohammed AlKaff AlHashmi, one of the founders of IslamicCoin.

IslamicCoin is aimed at 1.1 billion Muslims using the Internet. The project creates convenient tools designed for users who have never been owners of cryptocurrencies. Thus, the creators of IslamicCoin are expanding the capabilities of the Muslim online community by providing it with opportunities to use a new form of digital money and involving them in the modern digital world.