Authorised financial services provider BlockTower’s rand-backed stablecoin ZARU has been listed on Luno Global, in what it says is the first institutional-grade rand stablecoin on a regulated crypto exchange.
The listing gives the rand an on-chain secondary market on Luno’s exchange. ZARU, which is pegged 1:1 to the rand’s current value against the greenback, can now be traded directly against US stablecoins USDT and USDC. The local currency was trading at R16.36 early this morning.
BlockTower is a crypto-asset service provider and Luno a global crypto-currency platform founded in 2013. ZARU/USDT and ZARU/USDC trading pairs are now available on the exchange.
Under the hood
USDT, also known as Tether, is a stablecoin crypto-currency pegged 1:1 to the US dollar. Issued by Tether, each token aims to maintain a constant value of $1 by backing its digital circulation with equivalent physical cash, short-term bank deposits and treasury reserves.
Also pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, USDC is issued by Circle and backed by cash and short-term US Treasury securities stored in regulated financial institutions, allowing it to maintain a stable value, unlike volatile crypto-currencies like Bitcoin.
Luno Global says the new exchange pairs will initially be available to customers in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda, with additional regions to be added as regulations allow.
ZARU has previously been available to retail customers through Easy Equities and Luno Global’s instant trade feature in South Africa, while qualified institutional investors have been able to access it over the counter.
BlockTower CEO Vighnesh Patel says: “Institutionally trusted, regulated liquidity for ZARU is foundational to building real on-chain capital markets and FX. This listing on Luno Global is a major step in that direction.”
Crypto by numbers
The South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB’s) latest Financial Stability Review shows that USDT remains the dominant stablecoin in South Africa. On-chain transactions involving USDT across the country’s largest exchanges – Luno, VALR and AltCoinTrader – reached almost R27 billion in the year to 30 April 2026.
However, trading activity at selected crypto asset service providers (CASPs) indicates that monthly trading volumes declined from a monthly average of about R19.2 billion in 2025, to around R10.7 billion over the comparable four-month period in 2026, SARB said.
The central bank’s 2025 Second Edition found that Bitcoin, which is not pegged to any underlying asset and has at times shown a correlation with gold prices, continued to account for the largest share of domestic crypto asset holdings, followed by Ripple, Ethereum and Solana.
The number of CASPs licensed by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority reached 310 at the end of March 2026, in line with global trends, the bank says.
Changes afoot
The listing also comes as South Africa's crypto regulatory framework continues to evolve. In April, National Treasury proposed new foreign exchange rules governing the cross-border use of crypto assets as part of a shift from South Africa's long-standing exchange control regime to a risk-based system focused on monitoring high-risk transactions and combating illicit financial flows.
The proposed regulations, on which public comments closed in June, provide for penalties of up to R1 million, five years' imprisonment, or both, for breaches. This week, Treasury published a draft manual setting out how licensed CASPs must handle and report cross-border crypto transactions to the South African Reserve Bank's Financial Surveillance Department.
In the States, non-US dollar stablecoins continue to grow. According to research by Keyrock and Bitso, non-USD stablecoin supply increased from $44 million in 2020 to $2.2 billion. The research found trading in Brazilian real- and Mexican peso-backed stablecoins has also expanded significantly.
Stablecoins are primarily used as a bridge between traditional currencies and crypto-currencies, allowing users to move money, settle trades and make cross-border payments without the price volatility associated with assets such as Bitcoin.
Mining money
BlockTower has partnered with Currency Hub as ZARU’s market maker to provide liquidity for the exchange-listed trading pairs. “Continuous liquidity is what turns a listing into a market,” says Warren Deats, CEO of Currency Hub.
Qualified institutional clients can mint and redeem ZARU directly through BlockTower’s issuance platform, while the token is also available through exchange trading.
The reserve assets are managed by Sanlam Specialised Asset Management. Jacques Le Roux, CEO of Sanlam Financial Markets, says: “For institutional holders, the reserve management structure is the point. It is the same operational discipline we apply across our asset base, now standing behind a rand stablecoin.”
The reserves are independently attested each month by professional services firm Moore Johannesburg.
Share
