South Africans buying Bitcoin as they would stocks

Investing in cryptocurrencies and other crypto assets has become increasingly popular in South Africa, with many investors now considering them a key part of an investment portfolio. 

Crucially, usage has gone beyond short-term trading and towards more traditional, longer-term investment strategies. 

Individuals are increasingly allocating capital to cryptocurrencies and other assets on a monthly basis, as they would with a unit trust or exchange-traded fund (ETF). 

This was revealed by Discovery Bank and Visa in the latest SpendTrend26 report, which analysed South Africans’ spending behaviour. 

Together, the institutions analysed 2.6 billion transactions across 20 million credit and debit cards. They also conducted a survey of 1,000 South Africans to better understand their spending behaviour. 

While much of the report focuses on where individuals spend their money and how they spend it, crypto received its own deep dive as its popularity has increased significantly over the past few years. 

In late 2025, Discovery Bank launched integrated crypto trading on its app with Luno, making it the first banking platform to offer such a service. 

This provided unique insights into how South Africans engage with crypto, the frequency of deposits and investments, and how long individuals hold the assets. 

The bank noted that participation in cryptocurrencies and crypto assets continues to expand in South Africa, with over 7.8 million individuals using major crypto platforms to trade. 

This growth has been driven by the success of mobile crypto-trading platforms, such as Luno, VALR, and Binance. These platforms have lowered the barriers to entry for new investors. 

“Simple onboarding processes and app-based trading have made it easier for consumers to open accounts and begin investing. This has been particularly important for younger consumers,” the report read. 

“As a result, digital assets are contributing to a broader generational shift in financial engagement and participation in investment markets.” 

The graphic below shows the increased penetration of crypto-trading in South Africa, with a rising proportion of individuals engaging with the products and services these platforms offer. 

Going mainstream

The most notable insight from the bank was that cryptocurrencies are increasingly being viewed as a core investment class alongside traditional assets such as stocks and property.

Spending patterns have shifted from large, irregular trades to smaller, more consistent investments, signalling a move toward longer-term portfolio strategies.

This insight comes from Visa’s credit card data, which shows that the behaviour trend is widespread and not confined to high-net-worth individuals or even high earners. 

The company described the shift away from large, irregular trades towards more consistent “little and often” investments as more indicative of sustained engagement. 

Transaction frequency, as a result, has increased to 2.5 transactions per active card user in 2025. 

Discovery Bank noted that its data shows this growth has been driven by middle-income consumers, with transaction frequency rising sharply. 

Among mass-market clients, frequency surged 26% year-on-year, while mass-affluent customers saw their transaction frequency jump 13%. 

Affluent usage is also maturing, with Everyday Affluent clients increasing 15%, while High Net Worth users showed steady engagement with 12% growth into 2025. 

Smaller transaction sizes combined with higher frequency suggest a move towards more disciplined, portfolio-style investing. 

This change suggests that more consumers are treating cryptocurrency as part of a longer-term investment strategy, rather than purely speculative trading.

The shift in consumer attitudes towards crypto investing is coinciding with greater normalcy around the assets, with financial services firms looking to expand access to regulated offerings. 

In the United States, this has translated into strong interest in Bitcoin ETFs and others that track the value of cryptocurrencies as if they were physical commodities, such as gold and platinum. 

South African asset managers are looking to do something similar, with Sygnia offering a Bitcoin fund that is exposed to the cryptocurrency through its partners in the United States.