Kenya Sets Historic Crypto Regulations with Steep Capital Requirements
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has implemented strict regulations for virtual asset service providers in the country. The new framework, which comes into effect after being gazetted under Legal Notice No. 134 of 2026, sets a minimum capital requirement of KES 300 million for stablecoin issuers and KES 100 million for cryptocurrency exchanges.
The regulations aim to sanitize the sector by imposing high financial barriers to entry, thereby ejecting undercapitalized operators. The CBK has designated a dual-regulatory environment, where companies operating in the virtual asset space must navigate compliance audits from two separate national watchdogs, depending on their exact nature of commercial architecture.
The highest regulatory hurdle has been reserved for stablecoin issuers, who are legally compelled to maintain a minimum paid-up capital of KES 300 million and hold unencumbered liquid capital amounting to KES 60 million or an amount equivalent to 100 percent of their current liabilities for at least 30 days.