Navigating the cryptocurrency landscape: Insights from Binance's Hannes Wessels

In a wide-ranging interview, Hannes Wessels, General Manager for Southern and Francophone Africa at Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, said while South Africa's conduct regulator, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), has made strides by extending existing financial advisory frameworks to crypto firms, the process remains under-resourced and delayed."

"I do believe, though, that a lot more work needs to happen to tailor regulation specifically for crypto asset service providers because our business is very different from, say, insurance brokers," he said.

“We’re in the last batch of firms still waiting for our crypto license approval,” Wessels said. “The FSCA has good people who know what they’re doing, but they’re simply under-resourced. You can only do so much with the bandwidth you have.”

Wessels touched on the case of Standard Bank. Last month in a judgment handed down in the North Gauteng High Court, Judge Mandlenkosi Motha ruled that the Exchange Control Regulations, introduced in 1961, cannot be applied to cryptocurrencies. In his judgment, he wrote “a regulatory framework addressing cryptocurrency is long overdue”. He noted there is a clear lack of regulation of digital assets, despite their existence since 2009. 

The case in front of the High Court involved Standard Bank, against the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and others, and focused on whether cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin fall within the scope of the existing exchange control regulations. Judge Motha noted that the existing regulations do not permit “an unnatural and fictitious reading” to include cryptocurrencies. 

Wessels said, "As we saw in the Standard Bank judgment, the judge was quite clear in saying the SARB didn’t move fast enough in the treatment of crypto assets as an exchange-controlled asset."

He said regulation plays an important role in unlocking the potential of blockchain. Binance believes in a balanced approach, one that protects consumers while enabling innovation and attracting investment.

As part of this commitment, Binance works closely with the Virtual Assets Chamber to support clarity in digital asset regulation. This includes engagement on key policies such as the Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Bill, which presents an opportunity to create a secure and structured environment for the industry to thrive.

Footprint in Africa

Wessels said Binance was  present in most countries simply because Binance is in the App Store and "anyone can download it".

But only a few countries in Africa have a regulatory framework for crypto. Besides South Africa, Binance is looking at Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia. 

"If you look at population numbers and GDP, and the sophistication of the banking system—that’s key for us," he explained.

Education and trading safely

In talking about market penetration, one needed to talk about education and trust,  he said.

"People tell me about mobile penetration, but almost all African countries are at parity. That’s not the issue. We spend a lot of resources on education. You may know about Binance Academy - it’s free and accessible on mobile. We’ve got almost 370 topics, from basic “What is Bitcoin?” to complex stuff like Web3," Wessels said.

People needed to understand what they were getting into when buying crypto and not falling for scams.

Wessels said there were scammers using Binance branding on Zoom calls claiming to be consultants. "They convince users to send funds to fraudulent addresses."

People must stay in the Binance app to be safe. "That’s your safety net. Don’t deal outside the secure ecosystem. If you’re unsure, double-check," he said.

Binance has over 750 people dedicated to cybersecurity - out of a global workforce of around 6 000–7 000, that’s over 10%.  Wessels said the company was  constantly evolving to deal with  cyber attacks and improve security.

Trump and crypto momentum

Wessels explained that US President Donald Trump’s focus seems more on adoption of crypto than regulation.

"He’s promoting strategic crypto reserves, which is smart," he said.

Many governments are realising there’s fragility in fiat, Wessels said."In Covid-19, losses were socialised and profits privatised. Fiat currencies, including the South African rand, are losing value against the dollar. Governments are starting to see Bitcoin as a hedge. Bitcoin’s decentralised, finite, and has never been hacked."

BRICS and stablecoin

Wessels’ remarks come as BRICS countries, including South Africa, continue efforts to reduce dependence on the US dollar. With the BRICS bloc expanding to over a dozen member nations and intensifying calls to de-dollarize trade, digital assets and stablecoins are now being floated as potential reserve alternatives.

“There’s a conversation to be had about a BRICS stablecoin or basket reserve, but it’s complex,” said Wessels. “How do you weight a basket of 16 currencies, when China and India are GDP superpowers? Is it going to be dominated by the yuan and rupee, and if so, what incentive is there for smaller players like South Africa?”

Cautioning against hasty solutions, Wessels referenced the collapse of algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (LUNA) in 2022. "If it’s not fully collateralised and transparent, you risk a systemic failure."

Despite the structural hurdles, Wessels believes blockchain-based currencies could eventually help South Africa modernize cross-border payments and remittances, especially given the inefficiencies of the traditional financial system.

“Right now, if you want to send money from here to China, it has to go through New York, and that takes up to two weeks. With crypto, the same transfer can be instant. That’s a game-changer.” 

Crypto’s Growing Pains

Despite optimism, Wessels acknowledged that crypto is still maturing — not just technologically, but culturally and institutionally. Referencing Metcalfe’s Law, he described crypto adoption as following a “hyperbolic curve,” driven by network effects and accelerated by institutional buy-in.

"Crypto adoption is like a hyperbolic curve—starts slow, then rapidly grows. I think we’re in adolescence. Depending on institutional and government adoption, we’ll move into early adulthood. But I think we have another 10–15 years before it matures fully," he said.

Wessels said early adopters were better placed. Institutions like BlackRock and Fidelity are making crypto familiar.

"There’s no magic behind Bitcoin ETFs—they just buy Bitcoin and let people buy shares. But custody is the key differentiator. People trust familiar names. I think we’ll see baskets of tokens, like top 10 cryptos, becoming more common," he said.

User profile

Generation Alpha (demographic group born between 2010 and 2024) and Gen Zs (born during the late 1990s and early 2000) are the fastest adopters of crypto. The Alphas and the Gen Zs. And they look at the traditional banking system - or "the fiat system," as they call it - with some skepticism. They say, "Hang on, this is not really made for me." Crypto looks more feasible to them.

Wessels said, "I definitely see a generational difference that I think is going to drive adoption. And as the generations move through life, I think that’s going to drive the curve further. A lot of them are far more educated than people realise. They’re smart. So I think that kind of thinking is going to drive crypto adoption more and more."

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