The words a trade
is actually written in.

A

Accountable institution

A business listed in Schedule 1 to the FIC Act and therefore subject to customer due diligence, record keeping, reporting and a compliance programme. Crypto asset service providers were added as Item 22 with effect from 19 December 2022, which is why a South African desk asks for documents before it trades with you.

AIT PIN (Approval for International Transfer)

The tax compliance status PIN a South African resident obtains from SARS before transferring funds abroad under the foreign capital allowance. It is a fiat exchange-control mechanism. It does not authorise buying a crypto asset in order to move value offshore, which remains a contravention of the Exchange Control Regulations.

B

Bid and ask

The best price a buyer is currently willing to pay (bid) and the lowest price a seller will accept (ask) on an exchange. Every rate shown on this site quotes both, because the difference between them is the honest measure of how liquid an asset is at that moment.

Block trade

A single large transaction negotiated away from a public order book and executed at one agreed price. The point is to avoid moving the market against yourself, which is what happens when a large order is worked through a thin book.

Blockchain

The shared, append-only ledger a crypto asset is recorded on. Entries are public, permanent and identified by address rather than by name — which is why analytics firms, exchanges and regulators can trace flows even though no name appears on the chain.

C

CARF (Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework)

The OECD framework requiring crypto asset service providers to report user and transaction information to their tax authority for exchange with other jurisdictions. South Africa adopted it from 1 March 2026, with the first return due to SARS by 31 May 2027.

CASP (Crypto Asset Service Provider)

A business that buys, sells, transfers or safeguards crypto assets for others. In South Africa a CASP is licensed by the FSCA as a financial services provider with crypto asset permissions and is an accountable institution under the FIC Act.

CDD (customer due diligence)

The identification and verification of a client, the client’s beneficial owners and the purpose of the relationship, required by section 21 of the FIC Act. It is a legal duty on the desk, not a discretionary check it may waive for a good customer.

CIPC

The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, the registrar of South African companies. A company registration number can be checked against its records, which is why section 32(4) of the Companies Act requires the registered name and number on every electronic publication, including a website footer.

Cold storage

Keeping the private keys to a crypto asset on a device that has never been connected to the internet, typically a hardware wallet. It removes the risk of remote theft and replaces it with the risk of losing the device and the backup.

Confirmation

A block added to the chain on top of the block containing your transaction. Each additional confirmation makes reversal exponentially more expensive. Desks require a set number of confirmations before releasing the other leg — a few minutes on most networks, longer on Bitcoin.

Conveyancer

An attorney admitted to prepare and register the transfer of immovable property in South Africa. Purchase funds are paid into the conveyancer’s trust account and released on registration at the Deeds Office. A crypto buyer converts to rand and settles into that trust account; the conveyancer, not the desk, transfers the property.

CTR (cash threshold report)

A report to the Financial Intelligence Centre under section 28 of the FIC Act for a cash transaction above R49,999.99. Splitting an amount into smaller cash pieces to stay under the threshold is structuring, and is itself an offence.

D

Deeds Office

The state registry where ownership of land in South Africa is recorded. Transfer is legally effective on registration there, not on payment — which is why property funds sit in a conveyancer’s trust account until registration happens.

Depeg

When a stablecoin trades meaningfully away from the value it is supposed to track. It has happened to major stablecoins under stress, and it is the reason a stablecoin should be treated as a claim on an issuer rather than as a dollar.

E

ECTA

The Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002. Section 43 lists eighteen items a commercial website must disclose; section 43(2) requires an opportunity to review and correct an order before placing it; and section 42(2)(a) excludes financial services from the seven-day cooling-off right in section 44.

EDD (enhanced due diligence)

The additional scrutiny required by section 21A of the FIC Act where a client, product or transaction presents a higher money-laundering risk — more documentation, more questions about source of funds and wealth, and senior sign-off.

EFT (electronic funds transfer)

The standard South African batch payment between bank accounts. Cheap and effectively unlimited in size, but cleared in batches, so timing depends on the sending and receiving banks rather than on the sender.

ERC-20

The token standard on the Ethereum network. USDT and USDC both exist as ERC-20 tokens. Fees are paid in ETH as gas, and an ERC-20 token sent to an address on a different network is normally unrecoverable.

F

FAIS

The Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act 37 of 2002, which regulates advice and intermediary services in relation to financial products. General Notice 1350 in Government Gazette 47334 of 19 October 2022 declared a crypto asset a financial product under it.

FIA (foreign capital allowance)

The R10 million per calendar year an adult South African resident may transfer offshore with a SARS tax compliance status PIN. Like the single discretionary allowance, it is a fiat mechanism and cannot be used to move value offshore through a crypto asset.

FIC Act

The Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001, South Africa’s anti-money-laundering statute. It creates the duties an accountable institution owes: customer due diligence (s21), enhanced due diligence (s21A), a risk management and compliance programme (s42), record keeping for five years (ss22–23) and reporting (ss28–29).

FICA

Everyday shorthand for the identification and verification process a South African institution runs before doing business with you. Being “FICA’d” means the desk holds verified identity, address and source-of-funds information for you.

FinSurv

The Financial Surveillance Department of the South African Reserve Bank, which administers the Exchange Control Regulations. FinSurv does not approve cross-border transfers for the purpose of buying crypto assets, and treats crypto assets as outside the allowance framework.

Firm quote

A binding price for a whole transaction, issued in writing by a dealer and held for an agreed window. It is the opposite of an indicative rate: once accepted in writing, both sides are committed to it regardless of what the market does next.

FSCA

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority, South Africa’s market conduct regulator. It licenses financial services providers, publishes a searchable register of them, and issues public warnings about unauthorised operators.

FSP (financial services provider)

A person or company licensed under FAIS. Category I covers advice and intermediary services — the category an OTC crypto desk sits in. Category II is discretionary management, where the manager trades on your behalf; that is a different licence and a different business.

G

Gas

The fee paid to have a transaction included in a block on Ethereum and similar networks, denominated in the network’s own asset. Gas rises with congestion, which is why the same USDT transfer can cost cents on one network and a great deal more on another.

I

Indicative rate

A reference price shown for sizing a trade. It moves with the market, binds nobody, and excludes network fees, bank charges and the outcome of compliance checks. Every rate published on this website is indicative.

M

Memo / destination tag

An extra identifier some networks require alongside the address — XRP is the common example — so that an exchange can credit the right account. A transfer sent without the memo often lands in a pooled address and needs manual recovery, if it can be recovered at all.

Mid-market rate

The midpoint between the best bid and the best ask. It is a useful reference point and not a price anyone actually trades at: a buyer pays the ask and a seller receives the bid.

N

Network fee

The amount paid to the blockchain network to process a transfer. It goes to the network, never to the desk, and is borne by the side sending the asset. It is one of the reasons the amount received is not the amount sent.

O

Order book

The live list of resting buy and sell orders on an exchange. Its depth determines how far your own order pushes the price. South African rand books are thin by global standards, which is the entire reason OTC desks exist here.

OTC desk

A counterparty that quotes and executes a whole transaction bilaterally rather than routing it through a public exchange. You get one price for the whole amount, a named dealer, and settlement arranged around a bank rather than a withdrawal queue.

P

PAIA

The Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000. Section 51 requires a business to publish a manual explaining what records it holds and how to request them. The small-business exemption ended on 31 December 2021, so the manual belongs on the website.

PayShap

South Africa’s rapid low-value payment service, which credits the beneficiary in seconds and can address a payment to a proxy such as a mobile number. Each bank sets its own ceiling and fees, so it suits small settlements rather than large ones.

PEP (politically exposed person)

A person entrusted with a prominent public function, and their family members and close associates. Sections 21F to 21H of the FIC Act require enhanced due diligence for domestic and foreign prominent officials. Being a PEP is not a bar to trading; it means more questions and a longer onboarding.

POPIA

The Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013, which governs how personal information is collected, used, secured and deleted, and gives you rights of access, correction and objection exercisable through an information officer.

Proof of address

A document issued in the last three months in your name at your residential address — a municipal account, bank statement, insurance schedule or signed lease. It is the item that most often delays an otherwise complete onboarding.

R

RFQ (request for quote)

The formal step in which a client states the asset, direction and size, and the desk responds with a price. It is a request, not an order: neither side is committed until the quote is issued and accepted.

RMCP (Risk Management and Compliance Programme)

The written, board-approved programme required by section 42 of the FIC Act, setting out how an accountable institution identifies, rates and manages money-laundering risk. It is the document a supervisor asks for first in an inspection.

RTC (real-time clearing)

A South African interbank payment that credits the beneficiary within minutes during banking hours, at a higher per-transaction fee than EFT and subject to a bank-set ceiling. The right rail when a deadline is measured in hours.

S

SARB

The South African Reserve Bank. It has stated that crypto assets are not legal tender in South Africa, and through FinSurv it administers the exchange control framework that governs cross-border flows of value.

SARS

The South African Revenue Service. SARS treats crypto assets as assets of an intangible nature, taxed on revenue or capital account under ordinary principles, and from 1 March 2026 receives crypto asset information under the OECD reporting framework.

SDA (single discretionary allowance)

The allowance a South African resident over 18 may use for permitted purposes abroad without a tax clearance PIN, raised to R2 million per calendar year by Exchange Control Circular 6/2026 of 8 April 2026. It cannot be used to buy crypto assets offshore.

Seed phrase

The twelve or twenty-four words that reconstruct a self-custody wallet and everything in it. Anyone with the words has the funds. No exchange, desk, bank or support agent has any legitimate reason to ask for them — a request for a seed phrase is a theft in progress.

Self-custody

Holding the private keys to your own crypto assets rather than leaving them with an exchange or custodian. It removes counterparty risk and puts the entire operational risk — backups, device failure, inheritance — on you.

Settlement

The point at which each side has actually received what it was owed: the crypto asset confirmed on-chain and the rand credited to a bank account. A trade is agreed at the quote; it is finished at settlement.

Slippage

The gap between the price you saw and the average price you achieved, caused by your own order consuming successive levels of the order book. On a thin book a large order can slip by several percent, which usually dwarfs any fee saving.

Source of funds

Evidence of where the money or crypto asset for this transaction came from — payslips, a sale agreement, dividend statements, exchange records. Distinct from source of wealth, which explains how your overall wealth was accumulated. Both are FIC Act requirements, not curiosity.

Spread

The difference between the price at which a desk buys and the price at which it sells. It is how an OTC desk earns, and quoting it openly is the difference between a margin and a hidden fee.

Stablecoin

A crypto asset designed to hold a constant value against a reference — almost always the US dollar — by holding reserves or by algorithm. USDT and USDC are the two used in South African settlement. Stability is a design goal and an issuer promise, not a guarantee.

STR (suspicious and unusual transaction report)

A report to the Financial Intelligence Centre under section 29 of the FIC Act. It has no monetary threshold, must be filed within 15 days excluding weekends and public holidays, and the person concerned may not be told it was filed.

T

Transfer duty

The tax payable to SARS on the acquisition of immovable property in South Africa, calculated on a sliding scale and normally paid through the conveyancer before registration. It is one of several rand costs a crypto buyer must fund in rand.

Travel Rule

The FATF requirement that originator and beneficiary information accompany a transfer of value, implemented locally by FIC Directive 9 of 2024 and in force since 30 April 2025 with no minimum threshold. Below R5,000 a reduced information set applies without verification by the ordering institution — verification relief, not anonymity.

TRC-20

The token standard on the TRON network, widely used for USDT because transfers are cheap and fast. Fees are paid in TRX, or covered by staked bandwidth and energy. TRC-20 and ERC-20 addresses are not interchangeable.

W

Whitelisting

Registering a withdrawal address or bank account in advance so that funds can only leave to a known destination, usually with a delay before a new entry becomes usable. It is the single most effective defence against an account takeover.

Z

ZAR

The ISO currency code for the South African rand. Every rate on this site is quoted against ZAR, because a desk that quotes you in dollars is quoting a market you cannot settle in.