GoTyme Bank Joins Industry CATASTROPHE Coalition to Fight SARB Draft Crypto Rules
GoTyme Bank joins the CATASTROPHE coalition urging SARB to revise draft crypto exchange rules as the public comment window closes in 2 days.
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What to Know:
- GoTyme Bank has joined South Africa’s industry coalition, CATASTROPHE.
- CATASTROPHE is a coalition of South African crypto industry shareholders pushing back against SARB’s proposed draft rules.
- GoTyme Bank spokeswoman Pontosho Ramontsha said that the bank believes crypto should be regulated. However, regulation should be consistent and shaped by activity, not technology.
- SARB has previously commented that its stance on the draft rules is not final.
- The deadline for public comment on SARB’s draft crypto rules closes in two days, on September 30.
Two days before the public comment period on the proposed draft crypto rules closes, GoTyme joins the CATASTROPHE coalition. It joins industry giants, Luno, VALR, AltCoin Trader and others to push back against the proposed draft rules published by the National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).
GoTyme’s Position
GoTyme Bank serves over 13 million customers in South Africa. The bank was recently named Best Digital Bank 2026 at the Euromoney Awards.
GoTyme spokeswoman Pontsho Ramontsha told TechCentral that the bank’s position isn’t about whether digital asset regulation should exist, but about consistency and fair regulation. Many other firms in the coalition echoed the sentiment.
Ramontsha said inconsistent and unfair rules wouldn’t stop crypto activity; they would shift it out of view. Such rules, she argued, would make crypto activity “less visible and traceable, with fewer opportunities to embed consumer safeguards.” Previous harsh rules didn’t dampen activity; they pushed it beyond the reach of regulators and authorities.
What the Rules Propose
The current draft manual rules restrict licensed crypto asset providers (CASPs) from executing cross-border transactions that remain permissible through traditional banks. The rules also allow individuals to move funds from regulated crypto platforms to self-custodial wallets, but do not allow the funds to be moved back.
GoTyme’s interest, beyond concern, is also commercial. The bank, whose Philippine operations already provide retail crypto trading and whose South African operations became profitable within five years, notes that regulatory clarity would allow it to “participate in evolving payment infrastructure and settlement rails.”
VALR CEO Farzam Ehsani recently warned that the regulatory uncertainty is dampening institutional appetite, putting a pause on a reported 2.2 billion rand investment in the industry.
What’s Next
The CATASTROPHE movement has amassed support from over 200 organisations and 6000 individuals. SARB maintains that its position is not final, and it is still working alongside other regulators on the draft.
The window for public comment closes on Wednesday, September 30. Stakeholders and industry participants have just two days left to submit formal counterproposals for regulators to consider.
