ZARU has released its white paper, outlining its vision for a fully backed, South African rand-pegged stablecoin designed for regulated financial institutions, payment providers, fintechs and enterprise users. The document focuses on governance, reserve management, transparency and regulatory compliance, positioning ZARU as financial market infrastructure rather than a speculative digital asset.
According to the white paper, ZARU is a single-currency stablecoin that maintains a 1:1 peg to the South African rand (ZAR). It will initially launch on the Solana blockchain, with plans to expand to additional Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks over time. The paper explains that the project seeks to address the absence of an institutionally backed rand stablecoin, particularly as the stablecoin market remains dominated by US dollar-denominated tokens.
A central theme throughout the white paper is governance. ZARU will be issued by BlockTower South Africa (Pty) Ltd, a Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA)-licensed Financial Services Provider. The issuer will oversee reserve management, institutional onboarding, Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance, partner management and the day-to-day operation of the ecosystem. The paper states that reserve assets will be held in segregated South African rand accounts under BlockTower’s operational oversight.
The reserve management framework is presented as one of the project’s defining features. According to the white paper, Sanlam Specialised Asset Manager has been appointed as the Asset-Liability Manager (ALM), responsible for managing reserve allocation, monitoring liquidity and ensuring sufficient funds are available to meet redemption requests. The reserve portfolio will prioritise capital preservation and liquidity by investing only in high-quality, short-term instruments such as cash deposits, South African government securities, floating rate notes, over-collateralised reverse repos and approved money market funds.
The paper also outlines the banking arrangements supporting the stablecoin. Standard Bank South Africa has been appointed as the primary banking and custody partner, with reserve assets held in segregated current, call and custodial accounts that are separate from the issuer’s operational accounts. According to the white paper, this structure is intended to ring-fence reserve assets from the issuer’s creditors, subject to applicable law.
Transparency is another major focus of the document. The white paper states that Moore Johannesburg Inc. will provide independent monthly reserve attestations, verifying the total ZARU supply, reserve balances, reserve quality and reserve-to-liability reconciliation. These reports will be published publicly to provide ongoing transparency for token holders and market participants.
Unlike many digital assets, ZARU is not presented as an investment product. The white paper explains that tokens will only be minted after the corresponding South African rand has been received and will be burned immediately upon redemption. It also states that there will be no pre-minted supply, no founder allocation and no public token sale, with every token intended to be backed one-for-one by reserves.
The proposed distribution model separates institutional and retail access. Banks, payment service providers, exchanges, fintech companies and asset managers will be able to mint and redeem directly after completing KYC and AML requirements, while retail users will access ZARU through authorised distribution partners rather than directly through the issuer.
The white paper also identifies Luno, EasyEquities, Sanlam and Lesaka as founding network members, describing their role in supporting liquidity, market access, governance and distribution across the ecosystem.
From a technical perspective, ZARU will initially be issued on the Solana blockchain using the Token-2022 standard. The paper highlights programmable compliance controls, publicly verifiable token supply, transparent mint and burn records and support for non-custodial wallets. It also notes that the issuer will retain exclusive mint authority secured through multi-signature controls and hardware security modules.
To strengthen compliance, the white paper states that blockchain activity will be monitored using Chainalysis to support anti-money laundering controls, fraud detection and transaction monitoring. Combined with regulatory oversight, segregated reserves, independent attestations and annual external audits, these measures are intended to provide a governance framework that aligns with South Africa’s evolving approach to digital assets.
Overall, the ZARU White Paper presents a framework for a regulated, fully backed rand stablecoin built around transparency, conservative reserve management and institutional governance. Rather than positioning itself as a speculative crypto asset, the paper describes ZARU as payment and settlement infrastructure intended to support the digital use of the South African rand within a regulated financial ecosystem.
Read the Whitepaper here>>> ZARU White Paper 21 July 2026