For the first time in its history, the Faculty of Law at the University of the Western Cape has conferred a Doctorate of Philosophy by publication.

Eveshnie Reddy’s PhD by publication, An enforcement framework for cryptocurrency crime: A South African perspective, consisted of four published journal articles and one book chapter.

While the world and South Africa navigate the legalities of cryptocurrency, it is used as a tool and a target for various crimes, including fraud, money laundering, ransomware, and Ponzi schemes. A trademark of this currency type is its pseudonymity, and this, coupled with the lack of comprehensive regulation, contributes to the complexity of investigating and prosecuting such crimes.

In her research, Reddy argued that current laws like South Africa’s Cybercrimes Act and Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) offer partial solutions but lack clear provisions for cryptocurrency-specific crimes. The legal definitions of "money laundering" and "cyber fraud" must also be reevaluated to include cryptoassets.

Reddy says that interdisciplinary research is essential in this aspect of Financial Technology: “I needed to delve into Computer Science a little bit and understand how encryption technology works, how the dark web works, how criminals actually go into the dark web, and what types of crimes are actually committed. And it's very nuanced.”

She added: “I worked with people from industry, computer scientists, and people who engage in cryptography work, and they were able to help me understand the concept and some of the technical aspects that I had to deal with. So what I learned from this thesis is that multidisciplinary work is very important and it's really a goal of mine to engage in more of this type of research.”

Reddy is also part of the African Fintech Law and Regulation Network coordinated by her PhD supervisor, Prof Vivienne Lawack.

“I am very proud of Eveshnie. After completing her PhD by publication she has been invited by the Department of Computer Science and Technology at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom to take up a postdoctoral fellowship the next year. I am extremely proud of her and her achievements,” said Prof Lawack.

Reddy was also one of eleven PhD students who collaborated on the book Fintech Law and Regulation: An African Perspective, edited by Prof Lawack.