{"id":73874,"date":"2026-06-11T11:11:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T11:11:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/luno-ceo-james-lanigan-warns-33t-stablecoin-boom-could-bypass-south-africa\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T11:11:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T11:11:53","slug":"luno-ceo-james-lanigan-warns-33t-stablecoin-boom-could-bypass-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/luno-ceo-james-lanigan-warns-33t-stablecoin-boom-could-bypass-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Luno CEO James Lanigan Warns $33T Stablecoin Boom Could Bypass South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"@container mb-[25px] rounded-sm overflow-clip py-0.5 pr-0.5 pl-2.5 bg-success-100\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col gap-m overflow-clip rounded-[6px] !bg-success-10 p-3 @[420px]:p-m\">\n<h2 class=\"m-0 flex items-center gap-s text-[19px] !text-[#1c1c1c] md:text-[20px]\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"10\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 10\" fill=\"none\" class=\"shrink-0 text-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M1 1.5h14\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><path d=\"M1 8.5h10\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span>Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"m-0 flex list-none flex-col gap-m pl-0\">\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">National Treasury and SARB extended the draft regulations comment deadline to June 30, 2026, after a backlash.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Luno CEO Lanigan warns the rules could block firms from using a $33 trillion global stablecoin payment market.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Regulators will soon release a draft manual to define cross-border crypto actions and clear up gray areas.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Lanigan Warns of Competitiveness Risk<\/h2>\n<p>South Africa risks severely undermining its global economic competitiveness if upcoming financial regulations block the use of <span>stablecoins<\/span>, according to James Lanigan, chief executive officer of Luno.<\/p>\n<p>Lanigan <a href=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/cryptocurrency\/653448-luno-sends-warning-to-the-south-african-reserve-bank-and-national-treasury.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">warned<\/a> that the newly proposed Capital Flow Management Regulations from the National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank, or SARB, could inadvertently lock South African businesses out of modern digital payment systems, limiting crucial capital inflows into the country.<\/p>\n<p>The warning comes as the public comment deadline for the draft Capital Flow Management Regulations draws near. Initially published in late April, the sweeping draft regulations are an attempt to overhaul the country\u2019s decades-old exchange control regime. However, the draft rules triggered an immediate wave of <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/south-africa-crypto-draft-triggers-1m-rand-fine-warning-from-valr-ceo\/\">industry backlash<\/a>, forcing regulators to extend the initial public comment deadline from May 18 to June 30, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Critics initially sounded alarms over severe enforcement provisions, including potential prison sentences, heavy fines, and fears that the state could aggressively seize assets or restrict <span>crypto<\/span> ownership thresholds, forcing investors to <span>liquidate<\/span> holdings into rands.<\/p>\n<p>While the National Treasury and SARB issued a <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/south-africa-rules-out-foreign-stablecoins-as-payment-tools-to-curb-dollarization\/\">joint statement<\/a> in May attempting to assuage public panic\u2014clarifying that they have no intention of criminalizing asset ownership or applying rules retrospectively\u2014Lanigan highlights a much deeper systemic threat to the B2B financial sector: the choking of <span>stablecoins<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c <span>Stablecoins<\/span> are already settling more value annually than Visa and Mastercard combined,\u201d Lanigan said, pointing to Bloomberg data showing that <span>stablecoins<\/span> accounted for a staggering $33 trillion in payments and <span>blockchain<\/span> transfers in 2025\u2014nearly double Visa\u2019s $17 trillion. \u201cThis is driven by the use of <span>crypto<\/span> by businesses, in addition to ordinary investors.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>The Scale of <span>Stablecoin<\/span> Growth<\/h2>\n<p>According to Lanigan, the current wording of the regulations could prohibit local enterprises from using <span>stablecoins<\/span> to execute cross-border payments or repatriate funds back home. This would deal a severe blow to South African multinationals operating across the continent, where severe shortages of physical US dollars make moving money and repatriating profits through traditional banking networks notoriously slow and expensive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLocal <span>stablecoins<\/span> are critical infrastructure to support domestic payments and treasury flows, while dollar <span>stablecoins<\/span> provide a fast bridge to global commerce and cross-border settlement,\u201d Lanigan explained. \u201cTogether, they reduce friction, lower costs, and make money move more efficiently at home and abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The primary frustration for industry stakeholders is that regulators are asking for feedback on rules without providing the actual operational context.<\/p>\n<p>The National Treasury and SARB have acknowledged that the exact definitions of what constitutes a \u201ccross-border <span>crypto<\/span> transaction\u201d will only be revealed in a subsequent, yet-to-be-released draft instructional manual. Until that framework drops, businesses are being forced to comment on bare regulations that leave them in a legal gray zone.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, the absence of standardized banking reporting codes for <span>stablecoin<\/span> transactions leaves local firms hesitant to adopt them, fearing noncompliance. Lanigan notes that businesses approach Luno almost daily looking for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-are-stablecoins\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stablecoin<\/a> solutions to navigate the continent\u2019s currency <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-is-liquidity\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">liquidity<\/a> crisis. By leaving these rules ambiguous or overly restrictive, the government is actively reducing payment flows into South Africa, harming local businesses, and shrinking the national tax base.<\/p>\n<p>As global financial titans like Blackrock, JPMorgan Chase, Visa and Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 G\u00e9n\u00e9rale rapidly migrate infrastructure on-chain, South Africa stands at a regulatory crossroads.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is essential that South Africa moves, through thoughtful revision of the draft Capital Flow Management Regulations, to unlock the economic growth potential of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-are-stablecoins\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stablecoins<\/a>,\u201d Lanigan urged. \u201cWithout the integration of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-are-stablecoins\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stablecoins<\/a> into the local financial mainstream, South Africa will limit its competitiveness in the modern economic system.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/luno-ceo-james-lanigan-warns-33t-stablecoin-boom-could-bypass-south-africa\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News ) Key Takeaways National Treasury and SARB extended the draft regulations comment deadline to June 30, 2026, after a backlash. Luno CEO Lanigan warns the rules could block firms from using a $33 trillion global stablecoin payment market. Regulators will soon release a draft manual to define cross-border crypto [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":73875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73874"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73874\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}