Global and Africa-focused cryptocurrency companies, including Binance, Kotani Pay, VALR, Yellow Card and Luno, are preparing to seek licences in Kenya as the country moves to enforce a new regulatory framework for virtual asset service providers.
Kenya gazetted its Virtual Asset Service Providers Regulations, 2026, on July 24, creating a formal framework for licensing and supervising companies operating in the digital asset sector. The rules give crypto businesses a clearer route into the Kenyan market after years of regulatory uncertainty.
The development comes as Kenya’s cryptocurrency market continues to attract significant activity. Between July 2024 and June 2025, the country recorded about $19 billion in crypto inflows, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. The figure was more than twice the approximately $7 billion recorded during the preceding 12-month period, highlighting the scale of digital asset activity in the East African market.
For crypto companies, Brandspur Banking News Desk reports that the new licensing regime could turn Kenya into an increasingly important market for regulated digital asset businesses. Firms seeking to operate legally will now have to position themselves for compliance with the country’s requirements rather than operating in a largely uncertain regulatory environment.
The framework is designed to bring greater oversight to virtual asset businesses, with requirements covering areas such as anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, cybersecurity, data protection and consumer protection. Kenya’s Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025, provides the legal foundation for the licensing system, while the 2026 regulations establish the rules needed to implement it.
The move is significant for an industry that has grown rapidly while regulators have struggled to keep pace. Kenya has emerged as one of East Africa’s major cryptocurrency markets, attracting users and businesses involved in exchanges, payments and other digital asset services.
For consumers, formal licensing could make it easier to distinguish regulated operators from businesses operating outside the law. It also places greater responsibility on crypto firms to meet standards designed to reduce financial crime and strengthen protection for customers.
The competition for early licences could therefore intensify as international and African-focused companies seek to establish themselves before the market becomes more crowded.
Kenya’s approach also reflects a wider shift across Africa, where governments are increasingly moving from uncertainty around cryptocurrencies towards regulatory frameworks intended to bring digital asset businesses into the formal financial system.
With billions of dollars already flowing through its crypto market, Kenya is now attempting to match the growth of the industry with stronger oversight, creating a new test for whether regulation can protect users while still leaving room for digital asset innovation.
