4 entries.
CBK posted senior and managerial roles for virtual asset licensing and compliance while the VASP regulations were still in consultation. Read the sequencing: the regulator is building supervisory capacity ahead of the final rules, which points to licensing applications opening soon after gazettement, plausibly in Q3 2026. The hiring also confirms the division of labour in practice. CBK takes payment-side VASPs and stablecoin issuers; CMA takes exchanges, brokers and tokenization platforms. Regulators who staff up intend to enforce. Re-verified 6 July 2026: the final regulations remained ungazetted and licensing had not opened.
Public participation on the Draft VASP Regulations 2026 closed on 10 April. The Treasury's multi-agency task force, with CBK and CMA, moved to finalisation, with Cabinet approval and gazettement anticipated in Q2 2026. The framework covers licensing, capital, solvency and insurance requirements. With the Section 47 compliance deadline fixed at 4 November 2026, the gap between final regulations and the deadline is the entire licensing runway Kenyan VASPs will get. Re-verified 6 July 2026: the anticipated Q2 gazettement did not happen. The final text remained ungazetted, and the runway between final rules and the 4 November deadline is now under four months and shrinking.
The National Treasury circulated the Draft Virtual Asset Service Providers Regulations, 2026 on 17 March. It is the first implementing instrument under the VASP Act 2025, published with a Regulatory Impact Statement and a multi-agency task force behind it. The draft sets licensing and authorisation processes for all VASP categories, including exchanges, custodial wallets and payment processors, and writes FATF Recommendation 15 and Travel Rule requirements into the Kenyan framework. Strong Travel Rule implementation also supports Kenya's argument for exiting FATF increased monitoring. The regulations, not the Act, decide what compliance actually costs; capital requirements and licensing categories land here. Re-verified 6 July 2026: comments closed 10 April and the final regulations had not been gazetted as of this date.
The Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 received presidential assent on 15 October 2025 and came into force on 4 November 2025, making it the first standalone virtual asset statute enacted in Africa. Supervision is split: CBK takes digital asset issuance and custodial services, while CMA takes exchanges, brokers and trading platforms. An earlier draft's standalone regulator, VARA, was dropped. The 3% digital asset tax was repealed in favour of excise duty on VASP service fees, a materially better outcome for holders and P2P users. Section 47 gives existing VASPs one year from commencement to comply. That clock runs out on 4 November 2026, and every VASP touching the Kenyan market needs a licensing position before then.
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