Moneyweb Crypto
Moneyweb Crypto is a podcast that explores all things crypto and blockchain, from the good to the bad to the impossible. It aims to help listeners who are considering investing in cryptocurrencies or want to better understand this evolving universe.
Episodes
Wheatley challenges 20-year debarment over R301 in ‘test trades’
Africa Bitcoin Corporation’s former CEO says trades intended to expose platform errors were treated as deliberate share price manipulation. He is challenging the findings and penalties. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
How AI can help fix SA’s crippled municipalities
With only a small fraction receiving clean audits, Empowa’s Glen Jordan argues that AI could help councils scrutinise tenders, track spending and catch problems sooner. Blockchain could preserve the evidence. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Stablecoins take centre stage as bitcoin speculation fades
Absa digital assets head Rob Downes says stablecoin flows across the bank’s African markets have more than doubled over the past four years. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
R2.2bn in investment on hold over proposed crypto controls – VALR
VALR CEO Farzam Ehsani warns that the draft crypto rules on exchange controls could drive businesses, jobs and tax revenue offshore. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Crypto privacy is dead… and Sars knows where the bodies are buried
Crypto investors may have years of transactions scattered across exchanges and wallets. New international reporting rules mean Sars will increasingly have data to check what taxpayers declare, explains Carel de Jager, CEO of blockchain analytics firm Sixpence. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
South Africans are getting better at spotting fraud
The scams are becoming more convincing, helped by AI, with an astonishing 85% of South Africans encountering one in the past year, says Thalia Pillay of Orca Fraud. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
The dangers of over-regulating crypto
Proposed new exchange-control rules could cripple SA’s crypto industry, undermine self-custody and push transactions offshore, warns MoneyBadger CEO Carel van Wyk. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
What happens to your cryptocurrency when you die?
Harry Joffe of Discovery Life explains how poor planning can leave heirs locked out of valuable digital assets. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Crypto criminals are increasingly attacking people, not passwords
So-called ‘wrench attacks’ involving kidnapping, home invasions and physical threats have already netted criminals more than $30m this year, explains Philip Adiamah from Chainalysis. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
When a cold wallet isn’t so cold: Lessons from the $90m bitcoin theft
Cold wallets were long considered the safest way to store bitcoin. A recent AI-enabled hack has challenged that view, says Novaque CEO Shiven Moodley. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Does the wine taste better when you own a piece of the vineyard?
Bitexen SA CEO Mark Diuga explains how the new Arra Vineyard Token will give ordinary investors exposure to a working Stellenbosch wine farm – and why vineyards, sports clubs and safari lodges could be next in line for tokenisation. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Does Africa really need more local currency stablecoins?
A new report by Standard Chartered and Zodia Markets argues for exactly this outcome. Rochelle McCauley from Standard Chartered Bank explains why. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Does Sars want to tax crypto to death?
Some people think so. Others have a more nuanced view, among them Tertius Troost, tax specialist at RSM SA. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Stablecoins are just the start of something huge in finance
If you thought stablecoins were cool, wait until you see what’s coming. Philipp Zentner of LI.FI has a front-row seat and says we are about to enter a world where billions of transactions a day will criss-cross different blockchains at a fraction of current costs. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Copper is not gold – and that’s the point
Connie Bloem, CEO of Mesh Trade, explains why investors are falling in love with copper, which has doubled in price since 2023, and explores the benefits of tokenised copper, gold and silver. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Imagine getting scammed by your own son
Or what AI convinces you – using voice and video cloning – is your own son, lying in a hospital bed and in desperate need of funds. This actually happened to a Cape Town couple. Thalia Pillay, co-founder and CEO of Orca Fraud, traces the frightening outlines of this new frontier of AI scams. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
AI agent told to ‘make money’ launches memecoin, pockets $100m
Silver Sixpence CEO Carel de Jager explains how AI agents will soon surpass the ‘human’ economy in size. He also relates the bizarre story of Truth Terminal, an AI agent that launched a hugely profitable memecoin after being instructed to instructed to make money. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Let’s be brave and lift exchange controls – Farzam Ehsani
VALR CEO Farzam Ehsani says SA has a golden opportunity to lift exchange controls rather than tighten them. It will unleash innovation and attract capital, and what exactly are we trying to fix with these proposed regulations? Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Are regulators strangling crypto in the crib?
There’s been a ton of backlash against SA’s proposed new exchange control rules. AfriDax CEO Frank Leonette tells us why, and what he thinks will happen next. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Is bitcoin a buy?
At around $75 000, bitcoin is down 40% from its peak of $124 000 in October last year. Rob Price of Sound Money explains why he thinks bitcoin is forming a bottom. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Can tokenisation spark an economic revival in SA?
How much value is tied up in frozen assets in SA? If we can unfreeze these assets through tokenisation – allowing ordinary South Africans to buy fractions of companies, properties and even farms and rare wines, what value could be unlocked? Shiven Moodley, CEO of Novaque, brings us a little closer to understanding what’s possible. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Dawie Roodt: Do we still need exchange controls?
The Efficient Group chief economist weighs in on new exchange
control regulations and doesn’t like them one bit – nor, it appears,
does he have much time for any kind of controls. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
$1.2bn spent on crypto in a week and the market didn’t blink
Institutions ploughed $1.2bn into bitcoin in a week and markets didn't blink. Cape Crypto CEO Leon Kowalski explains what's really driving crypto and shares his fiery take on government's proposed exchange control changes. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
New exchange control rules: ‘If they pass, we’re leaving SA’
Adopting Bitcoin conference co-organiser Ricki Allardice takes a temperature reading of the room after publication of draft exchange control regulations ... and it’s getting hot. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Something new: A multi-currency token to rule them all
And it promises to be more stable than a stablecoin. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
We’re moving into the age of decentralised money
Hannes Wessels, GM for Binance South Africa, explains why central bank issuance of money is facing competition from stablecoins – and it’s coming much faster than anyone imagined. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Selling trading signals is the scam du jour – FSCA
Head of enforcement at the Financial Sector Conduct Authority, Gerhard van Deventer, walks us through a new generation of scams, from deep fakes of FSCA personnel to selling trading signals. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
SA crypto exchange volumes are down 95% in five years
Exchanges that used to transact 1 000 bitcoin a day are now doing 50. But while crypto transactions have collapsed, stablecoins have picked up the slack, says Carel de Jager, CEO of crypto data analytics firm Silver Sixpence. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Why SA needs stablecoin regulations – and fast
Wiehann Olivier, partner and global co-head of digital assets for Forvis Mazars, explains what new stablecoin regulations will look like and why SA needs to speed up its regulatory reform. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Does SA really need another ZAR stablecoin?
Langelihle Nkabinde from EasyEquities explains the role of the new Zaru rand stablecoin and why it’s so important. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Is Ray Dalio’s bitcoin negativity justified?
Ray Dalio is more hip to gold than bitcoin, which he says has several serious
flaws. Not so fast, says macro strategist Shiven Moodley. We’re in the middle of a bear cycle where bitcoin haters love to vent, but cycles always turn. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Your forex allowance just went up to R2m a year – here’s what you could do
You can now buy $120 000 a year instead of $60 000 without any permissions from the Reserve Bank – and there’s plenty you can do with this, says 80eight CEO Faadil Moti. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Africa’s next payments leap: Stablecoins on every corner
Stablecoin adoption is moving from niche corridors to street vendors, says Enza Capital's Nzwisisa Chidembo. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Bitcoin ventures into extreme fear territory – and that’s not a bad thing
Luno’s Christo de Wit says sentiment has plunged, but long-term buyers are circling. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Absa’s bold leap into stablecoins
Rob Downes, Absa’s head of digital assets at Corporate and Investment Bank, explains the reasoning behind its recent collaboration with crypto infrastructure giant Ripple, and why it is piloting its own stablecoin – backed by gold. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Is this a crypto winter – and if so, when will it be over?
Blake Player, chief commercial officer at VALR, has seen plenty of crypto bear markets, but is this one over yet? And will gold profits now be recycled back into bitcoin? Moneyweb Crypto news articles
While bitcoin disappointed in 2025, crypto turned the financial world on its head.
While everyone’s been focused on bitcoin’s disappointing price in 2025, a few other things slipped under the radar. Companies now account for 5% of bitcoin holdings and stablecoin volumes exceed Visa transactions by a country mile, explains Hannes Wessels, SA country manager for Binance. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
AI trading tools can hallucinate and outright lie
In this podcast, Abhishek Saxena, head of strategy and growth at
AI research and development firm Sentient, explains what happens to
traders relying uncritically on AI trading tools. They can easily go rogue. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Bring on blockchain: Only 3% of Africans qualify for mortgage financing
The rest obviously still spend money on housing – and a novel rent-to-own model that even street hawkers can afford may be just what the continent needs. Empowa CEO Glen Jordan tells us more. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Why hasn’t bitcoin followed gold to the heavens?
Gold is heavily overbought, says Carel de Jager of crypto analytics firm Silver Sixpence, while bitcoin faced heavy selling pressure in the latter part of last year – but those pressures appear to be lifting, creating a bullish case for bitcoin in 2026. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
What happens if the US imposes sanctions on South African officials?
Revoking former foreign affairs minister Naledi Pandor's US visa suggests a shift towards personal, targeted pressure, and that's usually how it starts – but the smart move is to prepare, not panic; SA could explore alternative payment networks to reduce dependence on US-dominated financial infrastructure, says Faadil Moti, CEO of 80eight. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
You’ve accumulated some crypto, but how do you spend it?
Spendl Money founder and CEO Greg van der Spuy explains how the SA-born fintech is addressing the crypto spending hurdle by offering a MasterCard debit card and a unified financial platform for easy conversion of digital assets to fiat. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Why the cost of sending money depends on what passport you own
Anton Titov, founder of a RemiDe, a SWIFT-type system for the crypto age, explains why Africans pay so much more than Europeans to send money – and how a solution is at hand. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
The crypto meltdown – an opportunity or a trap?
Shiven Moodley, macro strategist at Novaque, argues that this is an aggressive drawdown in the crypto market, not a bear market. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Is now a good time to buy crypto bundles?
The new VALR10 bundle is designed for investors seeking crypto exposure but unsure which specific assets to purchase. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
How to unbank yourself
There are people in SA who get paid and spend only in bitcoin. What is that like? Carel van Wyk, founder of MoneyBadger weighs in on how to unbank yourself. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
SA’s crypto crackdown hits a legal wall
Webber Wentzel’s Joon Chong on the court ruling that’s left crypto assets in legal limbo. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Why a bitcoin strategy is a must-have for companies
Pat Hourigan of Frictionless Markets says all companies should have a bitcoin reserve strategy if they want to preserve long-term wealth. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Crypto outflows of R5bn a year flying under the radar
We now know that about R100bn in crypto flows in and out of SA every year, but there’s a consistent net outflow each year in violation of exchange controls, says Carel de Jager, CEO of SilverSixpence. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Is the crypto bear market over already?
Macro strategist Shiven Moodley analyses the carnage in crypto markets over the last week, runs the numbers and finds some disturbing signs of insider trading. There are also a few pleasant surprises in an otherwise dreary altcoin market. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
The stablecoin gold rush is here
Goldman Sachs says the stablecoin boom is just beginning — and it could grow into a trillion-dollar market. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Will stablecoins one day rule the world?
Connie Bloem of Mesh Trade explains why US dollar and even ZAR stablecoins like the recently launched yZAR are exploding around the world. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
10 000 customers load up on Luno’s tokenised stocks in the first month
You can be sure the JSE and financial institutions are taking notice. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
How to make your crypto sweat
Hannes Wessels, general manager for Binance SA, explains how to make your crypto work harder for you, earning returns 11% and more in US dollar terms. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Altvest follows Michael Saylor’s strategy, becoming Africa’s first bitcoin treasury reserve
Altvest changes its name to Africa Bitcoin Corp and plans to raise R3.68bn ($210m) to invest in Bitcoin. The two men behind the project, Altvest CEO Warren Wheatley and tech entrepreneur Stafford Masie, explain this radical new approach to building what they see as bullet-proof balance sheets. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
What if South Africa’s access to SWIFT is threatened?
The SA Reserve Bank says the threat of being excommunicated from SWIFT is likely to focus certain individuals rather than the country as a whole, but we should not take this lying down, says 80eight CEO Faadil Moti, as the experience with Russia and Iran shows that events can escalate quickly. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Are the banks warming to crypto?
Warren Deats, chief investment officer at Geddes Capital, explains that banks are likely far closer to entering the crypto space than many realise. Deats, himself a former banker and a crypto sceptic, says he understands the banks’ hesitancy when it comes to crypto, but argues they cannot delay their entry to the crypto space much longer. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
How to talk to a family member caught up in an online scam
If they’ve seen a video of Elon Musk or Cyril Ramaphosa or any other celebrity
telling them how to turn R4 500 into R20 000 in a month, it’s a scam says Gerhard van Deventer, head of enforcement at the Financial Sector Conduct Authority. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Look out JSE, here come tokenised stocks
Both VALR and Luno have launched tokenised stocks in SA, allowing South Africans to purchase exposure to US equities like Tesla and Nvidia without having to use their foreign allowance. It’s part of an accelerating trend where cryptocurrencies are gatecrashing the traditional finance space, explains VALR chief operating officer Gianluca Sacci. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Altcoins are back in vogue
Best-selling author and bitcoin miner Giannis Andreou says it’s not just bitcoin that’s getting attention from serious investors. Ethereum, written off by some as dead just a year ago, is back with a bang, as are some of the minnows of the crypto world. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Masie’s message to Discovery and Naspers: Get with the bitcoin programme
JSE-listed companies should be adopting bitcoin strategic reserves if they pause for a minute and take a serious look at the state of SA and the prospects for the rand, says tech entrepreneur Stafford Masie. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Bitcoin miners are solving Africa’s huge power deficit
Kenya-based Gridless Compute is a bitcoin miner with six sites in four countries. Now it's going into power generation, bringing electricity to the most stranded parts of Africa. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Another global crypto giant gatecrashes the SA market
Bitget, one of the world's largest crypto exchanges, is making a noisy entrance into the SA market with products such as credit cards linked to your crypto wallet and tokensied shares, explains head of growth for Africa, Callan Richardson. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Why some SMEs are loading bitcoin onto their balance sheets
Stablecoins too – and not as a sign of risk tolerance, but to mitigate the risks of fiat debasement, as 80eight macro strategist Shiven Moodley explains. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Is this the future of investing?
Digital exchanges like Mesh.trade have cut trading costs to 0.2% while making it possible to buy fractions of an asset. All transactions are logged on the blockchain. Stock exchanges like the JSE are getting a run for their money, says Mesh.trade MD Connie Bloem. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
How regulation opened the crypto arbitrage floodgates
Ben Jordaan of crypto arbitrage company Shiftly notes how regulation has been a blessing and a curse for crypto arbitrage, introducing thousands of new participants while also squeezing the profits as demand increases. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Banks are about to enter the crypto space
Frank Leonette, CEO of AfriDAX, delves into the imminent arrival of banks into the crypto space in SA, a surprising and ironic turnaround given their prior hostility to this new asset class. There are risks aplenty for customers, and not everyone will welcome the banks. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Could quantum computing crack Bitcoin?
Rob Price, CEO of Sound Money, takes us through some of the extraordinary leaps in quantum computing in recent months and what threat this poses to Bitcoin's cryptography – and how bitcoiners are responding. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
How bitcoin went from cool to necessary
Jon Ovadia, CEO of OVEX, gives his predictions for bitcoin as a rush of companies concerned about financial uncertainty stack BTC on their balance sheets. He also explains how OVEX is building a world-first "neo bank" built on crypto rails. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Court ruling exposes crypto exchange-control loophole
This could lead to a free-for-all, with crypto transfers abroad not subject to SA Reserve Bank approval – at least until the loophole is closed. Wiehann Olivier of Forvis Mazars takes us through the likely implications. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Is Know Your Customer verification really that safe?
The recent hack of crypto exchange Coinbase, where criminals working with rogue insiders managed to get access to customer information and demanded $20m to keep it quiet, is an example of how KYC can go wrong, says Shiven Moodley, macro strategist at 80eight. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Why crypto arbitrage is more popular than ever
David Farelo, CEO of Currency Hub, explains how the buying and selling of cryptos between local and overseas exchanges has gone mainstream as wealth and fund managers are looking for relatively low-risk returns that outperform. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Tether, the world's richest crypto company, moves into AI
Tether made more than $13bn in profits in 2024 with just 150 employees, more than BlackRock and on par with Goldman Sachs. Now, it is moving into open-source AI. Omer Iqbal, CEO of FiveWest, explains. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
How to dollarise your life with stablecoins
Craig Stoehr, general counsel for Yellow Card, talks about the incredible rise of US dollar-backed stablecoins like Tether and USDC and how they offer a lifeline for Africans trapped in countries with fatally weakened local currencies. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
The AI war between scammers and the public is getting wild
Sam Mkhize, head of compliance at Binance SA, explains how AI is evolving at a blistering pace, allowing scammers to clone your voice and image, and how crypto exchanges are using AI to fight back. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
There’s a perfect storm ahead for the rand and bitcoin
Tariff wars and gold at an all-time high have rattled financial markets. This could push the rand to R22.25 to the dollar and bitcoin to $65 000, says Shiven Moodley, macro strategist at 80eight. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Regulatory overload could stifle crypto boom
Brent Petersen, chair of the Crypto Asset Association of SA, explains how new regulations piled on top of the recently completed licensing process could throttle growth for some firms just beginning to find their feet. And what we've learnt about the crypto industry in the last five years. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Why small is beautiful when it comes to crypto
Henco Vorstman, CEO of ChainEx, one of the smaller exchanges in SA, explains why investors and traders often prefer a small exchange – low fees, good arbitrage opportunities, and personal service to name a few. And how the banks remain inexplicably hostile to crypto. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
What's blockchain got to do with a R60bn class action suit against the banks?
Hundreds of homebuyers are taking the banks to court for repossessing their homes and selling them for a fraction of their worth. Advocate Douglas Shaw explains how the repossession crisis in SA came about and how blockchain could solve this. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
Crypto heists, blockchain sleuths, and turning surplus power into bitcoin
The world’s second-largest crypto exchange, Bybit, was hit by a massive hack attack in February, where thieves from North Korea made off with nearly $1.5bn in ethereum. Carel de Jager, research group leader at the CSIR, has been on the trail of the stolen funds and tells us what he found. Moneyweb Crypto news articles
