Overview

• Kenya’s Parliament approved the Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill, but it will only take effect after presidential assent and subsidiary regulations are issued.
• The framework replaces a proposed standalone regulator with coordinated oversight by the Central Bank of Kenya and Capital Markets Authority, aligning with AML/CFT standards.
• Licensed firms must segregate client assets, maintain insurance, open bank accounts in Kenya, meet governance and record‑keeping requirements, and establish a local legal presence.
• Bank response remains uncertain after years of de‑risking, a factor that could determine whether safer on‑ and off‑ramps emerge or activity stays on informal peer‑to‑peer channels.
• Uganda began a CBDC pilot tied to a $5.5 billion tokenization initiative led by GSN and Diacente, while Lightning integrations in South Africa now enable Bitcoin payments at roughly 650,000 merchants.