Kenya’s crypto industry reacts as VASP Act becomes law

Stakeholders are saying the Act is a step in the right direction, as it provides legal backing to an ecosystem long in the shadows.
Kenya's multi-year journey from crypto taxation proposals to comprehensive regulation — through the Blockchain Association of Kenya's court challenge, FATF grey listing, industry lobbying against the digital asset tax and the VASP Act's passage and presidential signing.
Kenya's multi-year journey from crypto taxation proposals to comprehensive regulation — through the Blockchain Association of Kenya's court challenge, FATF grey listing, industry lobbying against the digital asset tax and the VASP Act's passage and presidential signing.

Stakeholders are saying the Act is a step in the right direction, as it provides legal backing to an ecosystem long in the shadows.

The bill has scrapped the creation of a new agency, VARA, and has instead placed VASPs under the CMA and CBK’s regulatory oversight.

Kenyans can now trade BTC, ETH, USDT and USDC with the Kenyan shilling on the exchange

Kenyan crypto stakeholders joined together and enlisted PwC to add credibility to their submission for DAT’s scrap to the parliament.

According to the CBK, banks highlighted that crypto and NFTs offer alternative avenues for payments and investments, with the potential to boost transaction speed and lower costs.

The coalition is pushing to scrap Kenya’s now-revised 1.5% crypto transfer tax, calling it unfair, innovation-stifling, and out of step with global norms.

The training session, supported by Binance, looked to help the regulators gain hands-on experience on the workings of digital assets before passing regulations.

Plus: 🇰🇪 Nairobi Securities Exchange to launch digital platform to trade tokenized real-world assets

A coalition of VASPs is mobilizing to lobby against the proposed tax law, seeking support from global tax experts to bolster its efforts.