Crypto Corner: Explainer: What is Africa Bitcoin Corporation and why did it make the FSCA mad?
It’s been a wild time in the house that Warren Wheatley built with the Karan brothers, but it actually has very little to do with bitcoin and it takes reading only 251 documents to see why.
Africa Bitcoin Corporation Limited (ABC), formerly known as Altvest Capital Limited, is a South African company that has been making waves in the financial sector. Established in 2021/2022, its primary aim was to "democratically provide retail investors with access to alternative private equity assets through specialised preference share classes." However, ABC shifted its focus in 2025 to become "Africa's first listed bitcoin treasury company."
Despite the rebranding and accumulating bitcoin reserves, the core financial engine of ABC remains tied to small-to-medium enterprise (SME) private credit loan financing through its subsidiary, the Altvest Credit Opportunities Fund (ACOF). The company's strategy of accumulating bitcoin has been inspired by the success of MicroStrategy, which began buying BTC in August 2020, believing it to be a superior store of value compared to cash.
As of May 2026, ABC holds a total of 5.5331 BTC, with its first bitcoin purchase made in February 2025 at $96,195 per bitcoin. The company uses its bitcoin as collateral to borrow money overseas at interest rates below 4%, which it then lends to small businesses in South Africa at normal market rates, resulting in significant profit margins.
When bitcoin's price dropped in late 2025 and early 2026, ABC's accounting policy required it to lower the listed value of its bitcoin on the balance sheet, resulting in a paper loss of about R2.4 million on the R7.8 million spent on acquiring the coins. However, since ABC's policy is to HODL its coins (hold on for dear life) and not sell them during price dips, no actual money was lost.
The controversy surrounding ABC came to light in August 2026 when Warren Wheatley, the company's CEO, and his wife Tatum Keshwar-Wheatley, as well as former CIO Akshay Karan, were issued 20-year debarment orders and R9 million in administrative penalties for market manipulation during 2022. The trio were accused of manipulating ABC securities traded during April and May 2026. Both Wheatley and Karan subsequently resigned from their positions and are contesting the debarment order.
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