Global and Africa-focused crypto firms, including Binance, Kotani Pay, VALR, Yellow Card, and Luno, are lining up to apply for virtual asset licences in Kenya, following the country’s gazettement of new crypto rules on July 24, as firms position themselves for an early regulatory foothold in one of Africa’s fastest-growing digital asset markets.
Between July 2024 and June 2025, Kenya recorded about $19 billion in crypto inflows, one of the largest in East Africa, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. Compared with the previous 12 months, it marked more than a twofold increase from about $7 billion, underscoring the rapid growth of digital asset activity in Kenya ahead of the new regulatory regime.
The licencing push marks a significant shift for Kenya’s digital asset industry, which has operated in uncertainty for years, despite being one of Africa’s largest crypto markets. The new Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) framework places exchanges, wallet providers, payment processors, and other digital asset firms under formal oversight by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), making Kenya one of the few African countries with a dedicated crypto licencing regime alongside jurisdictions such as South Africa—under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act—Mauritius, and Botswana.
