The eighth edition of the annual Web3 event will bring industry leaders and blockchain specialists to Workshop17 Watershed, V&A Waterfront, to discuss developments in digital finance, including AI, digital identity, crypto regulation and institutional adoption.
Event-goers can expect a full day of panel discussions, expert-led sessions and networking, built around four key streams:
Three key developments illustrate why stablecoins, security and institutional adoption are dominating the digital asset conversation:
Stablecoin payments in Africa are shifting from crypto-native use cases to everyday commerce.
In an interview published by The Paypers on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, Lewis Nurcombe, chief revenue officer at WalletConnect, described the launch of stablecoin payments in South Africa through Ezeebit, starting with hotel group The Capital.
Guests can pay in stablecoins including USDC and USDT, while merchants can settle instantly in stablecoins or fiat.
"The long-term goal is to make paying with a stablecoin anywhere in Africa as easy as paying with a card," Nurcombe said.
The interview also notes that on-chain activity in sub-Saharan Africa grew 52% over the past year. CryptoFest 2026 will ask the bigger question in the panel "The stablecoin revolution: Is crypto finally becoming money?"
Recent security incidents have brought digital asset vulnerabilities into sharp focus. The past three months have tested trust at every layer. In August, a random-number-generation firmware flaw in certain Coldcard hardware wallets was reported to have led to bitcoin losses.
In September, EasyEquities, one of South Africa's best-known investment platforms, warned customers that a third-party verification provider may have compromised personal information, while stating that its own trading and investing systems were not compromised.
This week, Binance confirmed a security incident, suspended withdrawals on multiple networks and said user funds are safe while it investigates, with reports putting the losses in the billions of dollars.
From cold-storage vulnerabilities and third-party data breaches to security incidents involving the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, digital asset custody, operational resilience and risk management have become board-level priorities.
CryptoFest 2026 will tackle these challenges through sessions including "Can traditional banking risk management survive Web3?", featuring Mfundo Mbambo, and the panel discussion "Financial crime & regulation in the agentic economy".
New investment commitments and regulatory milestones signal a rapidly maturing digital asset market. Institutional demand is no longer in question. Fireblocks' Financial Grid report, which surveyed more than 600 senior bank and corporate decision-makers, found that 88% have committed or will commit budget to digital-asset infrastructure in 2026, although only 16% have reached production.
In South Africa, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority had approved 310 crypto asset service providers by Tuesday, 31 March 2026.
The Bank for International Settlements puts the stablecoin market at roughly $320bn and argues that stablecoins fall short as money, proposing a tokenised unified ledger anchored in central bank money.
With capital moving in, new payment rails going live and security incidents testing the system, supervisors face increasing pressure to stay on track with developments.
The CryptoFest 2026 programme brings together experienced voices from across Africa’s rapidly evolving digital-asset and financial-services sectors. Lerato Lamola, partner at Webber Wentzel, will unpack "The future of crypto regulation in South Africa: Understanding the Cofi Bill," giving attendees a direct line to the questions shaping the rules under which their businesses will operate.
Confirmed speakers include Trevor Goott, head of growth: SADC at Yellow Card, who will discuss digital asset adoption in Africa; Louis Dike, chief executive officer and publisher at CoinAfrica, who joins the stablecoin panel; Mfundo Mbambo, management consultant, who will examine banking risk management in Web3; Lerato Lamola, partner at Webber Wentzel, who will unpack the Conduct of Financial Institutions (COFI) Bill; and Dishen Govender, head of Africa at Bitpanda Enterprise.
More speakers from leading organisations will be announced in the coming weeks.
Registration is open for prospective delegates.
Visit the CryptoFest 2026 website to learn more about the event and to subscribe to the newsletter.
