South Africans are under pressure financially, and according to economist Dawie Roodt, that pressure is starting to push people toward alternatives outside of the traditional banking system and even outside the rand itself.
Speaking to BizNews, Roodt shared strong views on cryptocurrency, stablecoins, South Africa’s economy, rising living costs, and growing frustration with government regulation and leadership. His warning was clear: if the government continues tightening control while failing to fix the economy, more South Africans may eventually stop relying on the rand altogether.
For many South Africans, this may sound extreme at first. After all, people still get paid in rand, buy groceries in rand, and pay rent, transport, and electricity in rand. But Roodt argues that the world of money is changing rapidly, and many people may not fully realise how quickly digital finance is evolving.
He explained that when people hear the word “crypto,” they usually only think about Bitcoin. But according to him, the real story is much bigger than that.
“The important thing here has to do with the underlying technology,” Roodt said during the interview, referring to blockchain technology.
He explained that cryptocurrencies are essentially digital information moving across the internet and, unlike traditional money flowing through banks, they are not limited by borders or government systems in the same way.
One of the biggest developments, according to Roodt, is the rise of stablecoins. These are cryptocurrencies linked to stronger international currencies such as the US dollar and are designed to maintain a stable value.
Roodt said stablecoins are already being used globally for large wholesale transactions, including oil trade deals in the Gulf region and financial transactions in Europe. He also believes they could become increasingly useful across Africa because they offer faster and cheaper transactions compared to traditional banking systems.
For ordinary South Africans struggling with high banking fees and rising costs, this part of the conversation may hit home. Many people already feel frustrated paying expensive bank charges just to move money, withdraw cash, or make international payments.
According to Roodt, stablecoins could eventually make many of those costs far lower.
“Transaction costs are significantly lower,” he explained while discussing digital payments compared to traditional credit card systems and banks.
He also warned that governments may struggle to control how people use these technologies because crypto can move globally through the internet without relying entirely on local banking channels.
“I can move it wherever I want to as long as I’ve got an internet connection, and nobody can stop me,” Roodt said while discussing cryptocurrency transfers.
The economist criticised the Treasury’s proposed regulations around crypto and foreign exchange controls, arguing that policymakers do not fully understand the technology they are trying to regulate.
At the centre of his concerns is South Africa’s strict exchange control system, which limits how much money people can legally move out of the country. Roodt believes cryptocurrency changes that completely.
He even demonstrated how crypto assets can be stored on a “cold wallet,” a physical offline device similar to a memory stick and explained how users can recover their crypto simply through password phrases, even if the device itself is destroyed.
To many South Africans, especially younger people, freelancers, remote workers, entrepreneurs, and those working internationally, this growing digital financial world is already becoming familiar territory.
Crypto platforms, digital wallets, online investments, and alternative payment systems have become increasingly popular in South Africa over the past few years, particularly among people looking for faster international payments, alternative savings options, or protection against a weakening rand.
But the interview was not only about cryptocurrency. It also reflected broader frustration around South Africa’s economy and political direction.
Roodt said many South Africans are no longer voting based on historical loyalty or liberation politics but rather on everyday survival issues.
“We’re starting to vote for bread-and-butter stuff,” he said while discussing South Africa’s changing political climate ahead of local elections.
He argued that service delivery failures, economic stagnation, unemployment, corruption, and infrastructure collapse are becoming impossible for voters to ignore.
Using Johannesburg as an example, Roodt pointed to failing infrastructure and poor governance as signs of deeper economic problems.
“Johannesburg is falling apart,” he said during the interview, warning that South Africa cannot build a successful economy while major cities struggle with basic management and debt.
He also claimed that the ANC is losing public trust.
“I have a suspicion that the ANC has run out of options and ideas,” he said, adding that the party had also “run out of good leaders some time ago already.”
According to Roodt, South Africans are increasingly looking for practical solutions instead of political promises.
That frustration is also being felt financially. Many taxpayers feel they are carrying a growing burden while public services continue to decline. Rising taxes, expensive electricity, fuel price hikes, load shedding, and increasing food costs have left many households financially stretched.
Roodt warned that if the government keeps increasing pressure on taxpayers while failing to improve services, more people may seek alternative systems outside government control.
“The private sector is simply going to ignore them and do our own thing,” he said, comparing crypto adoption to how many South Africans turned to solar power after losing confidence in Eskom.
He also argued that more people are building what he called “state-proof businesses” businesses designed to survive without depending heavily on failing government systems.
Despite his criticism, Roodt did praise the South African Reserve Bank for helping stabilise inflation and maintaining relative confidence in the rand during global economic uncertainty and rising oil prices linked to Middle East tensions.
However, he believes South Africa still needs major reforms to improve economic growth.
The interview highlighted a growing reality facing many South Africans: trust in traditional systems is being tested. Whether it is electricity, transport, local government, banking, or politics, more people are looking for alternatives that offer reliability, affordability, and control.
While the rand remains South Africa’s official currency and will continue dominating daily transactions for the foreseeable future, conversations around crypto, stablecoins, and digital finance are becoming increasingly mainstream.
For now, most South Africans are still watching cautiously from the sidelines. But as technology evolves and economic pressure continues, the idea of alternative digital currencies becoming part of everyday life no longer seems as far-fetched as it once did.
