How to buy crypto in South Africa

From zero to the first order

1. Pick a venue that accepts sign-ups from South Africa

   10 of the 10 exchanges tracked here accept registrations from South Africa; Binance↗ and Bybit↗ lead our coverage among them. The table below names every one, so start from a venue that will not reject your country.

2. Open and verify the account

   Begin at the Binance review here: it holds the routed referral link, the disclosure and whatever welcome terms apply. The form itself asks for an e-mail or phone number and a password; expect the usual verification pack afterwards — a government document and a selfie check — before meaningful limits unlock.

3. Move money in over the local rail

   PayShap, the low-value real-time rapid payment platform driven by BankservAfrica and the Payments Association of South Africa, provides instant bank-to-bank payments across participating banks, alongside traditional EFT bank transfers. PayShap launched with the country's four largest retail banks — Absa, First National Bank, Standard Bank and Nedbank — with more banks joining in later phases. Check the rail's own charge as well as the exchange's deposit fee — they are separate costs and only one of them is on the fee page.

4. Price the first order before placing it

   Entry-tier spot taker on Binance is published at 0.100%. Run your own trade size through the fee calculator linked below before the first order — the fee schedule, not the interface, is what you pay for.

5. Keep the tax picture in view

   SARS applies normal income tax rules to crypto assets: gains are declared either as revenue (gross income) or, where capital in nature, under the capital gains tax paradigm. Export your trade history while you still have access to it — reconstructing a year of activity later costs far more than saving a file today.