South African court rules Bitcoin is 'capital' and 'money'

A Johannesburg High Court in South Africa has ruled that Bitcoin qualifies as both "capital" and "money" under the country's Exchange Control Regulations, upholding the legality of a 6 million rand Bitcoin confiscation. According to local media outlet IOL, the court found that a crypto trader, Square Mangundla, had illegally transferred capital overseas without Treasury approval by moving approximately 1,680 BTC (worth around 182 million rand at the time) to offshore crypto exchange wallets between 2018 and 2020. Judge Stuart Wilson stated that Bitcoin is a financial asset capable of storing value and serving as a medium of exchange, thus fitting the definitions of both capital and money under the regulations. He further explained that exempting cryptocurrencies from these rules would undermine the entire foreign exchange control system, as anyone could convert assets to crypto and move them abroad. The decision reverses a 2025 court ruling that had found cryptocurrencies did not qualify as capital or money under the same law.