kenya

AI Agent Economic Settlement Agreement AEON announced the integration with Kenya's mobile payment platform M-Pesa, allowing users to complete payments using cryptocurrency, while merchants receive payments in Kenyan Shillings.AEON claims its settlement network covers over 50 million merchants globally and will extend the AI Agent settlement capabilities to more local payment systems, enabling transactions to be completed through users' daily payment networks, allowing merchants to receive local fiat currency settlements.

According to Cryptopolitan, the Kenya National Examinations Council has begun writing the country's academic records onto the Avalanche C-Chain for instant online certificate verification. Currently, over 15 million records have been put on-chain, and the system is expected to expand to about 35 million records, covering junior high school, high school, advanced diplomas, and teacher certification.Previously, verifying paper certificates took weeks to months and there were issues with forgery. The project is being implemented by a local tech company on the LegitDoc platform.

According to the official blog of Ava Labs, the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) announced that through a local technology service provider, it has anchored national academic certification data to the Avalanche C-Chain, officially establishing a national electronic certification system.The system has already recorded over 15 million historical academic records on-chain, dating back to 1989, and nearly 1 million KCSE candidates' certificates for 2025 have now been exclusively issued through this platform.In the future, the system is expected to cover approximately 35 million verifiable records, encompassing various educational levels including primary school, secondary school, higher diplomas, and government teacher training certifications. The new system will significantly compress the verification time from the original weeks or even months to seconds, completely replacing the old processes that relied on manual reviews and traditional databases, effectively preventing fraud such as certificate forgery and counterfeit verification websites.KNEC CEO David Njengere stated that candidates can now securely access, download, and verify their KCSE certificates online without having to rely on physical certificates.

The Kenyan National Treasury has reduced the minimum paid-up capital requirement for stablecoin issuers by 40%, to approximately $2.32 million, down from nearly $3.9 million in the draft rules from March last year.Under the new regulations, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) will oversee stablecoin issuers and other virtual asset service providers, and may require local platforms to cease offering offshore-issued tokens. The framework requires at least 30% of customer funds to be held in independent trust accounts at Kenyan commercial banks, with the remaining funds invested in qualified local assets. The fiat-backed stablecoin reserves must be consistent with the anchor currency.Issuers are required to maintain either $463,300 in liquid capital or 100% of their liquid liabilities, whichever is higher, and hold qualified reserve assets on a 1:1 basis. Issuers must also conduct quarterly stress tests, submit monthly reserve and transaction reports, and ensure that customers can redeem tokens at face value within two business days.

According to News.bitcoin, the Kenyan government is investigating the hacking incident of President William Ruto's official website, where attackers briefly disabled the site and altered the homepage content, demanding a ransom of 5 Bitcoins.William Kabogo, the Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Digital Economy, stated that the Kenyan law enforcement agency ICT Authority immediately activated the cybersecurity response protocol to control the incident and conduct forensic investigations, temporarily restricting public access to the portal. Currently, there is no evidence that sensitive data has been accessed without authorization, leaked, or lost, and government systems and digital services remain securely operational.

According to Decrypt, the Kenya Capital Markets Authority is tendering for blockchain monitoring tools to track fraud, money laundering, and sanctions evasion across more than 20 public blockchains. This move aims to support law enforcement needs under Kenya's new cryptocurrency legal framework.The platform will automatically issue alerts for high-risk wallets, large transfers, mixers, darknet-associated addresses, and sanctioned entities, and will screen transactions against the sanctions lists of the United Nations and the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control.

According to Cryptopolitan, Kenya's 2026 Finance Bill proposes a 10% consumption tax on virtual asset service providers, which is double the 5% rate for the gambling industry. The bill also requires crypto companies to pay a one-time licensing fee of 150 million Kenyan Shillings and an annual renewal fee of 2 million Kenyan Shillings before operating in Kenya, and to submit an annual report to the Kenya Revenue Authority containing user and transaction details.Analysts believe this move could force crypto trading platforms and users to relocate their business to countries that are more friendly to cryptocurrencies, undermining Kenya's significance in the African crypto market. Protests led by GenZ have resumed in places like Nairobi, protesting the increased tax burden on digital services, cryptocurrencies, mobile, and financial transactions.

According to The Block, the Kenyan National Treasury released the draft of the "2026 Virtual Asset Service Provider Regulations" this Wednesday and opened a public consultation, with a deadline of April 10.The draft is based on the "Virtual Asset Service Provider Act" that came into effect on November 4, 2025, and was drafted by a multi-agency working group involving the Central Bank of Kenya and the Capital Markets Authority.

According to Cointelegraph, just days after Kenya implemented its first comprehensive cryptocurrency law, several large shopping malls in Nairobi have installed ATMs branded "Bankless Bitcoin," providing local residents with cash-to-cryptocurrency exchange services.It is reported that Kenya implemented the "2025 Virtual Asset Service Providers Act" on November 4, which is the country's first formal licensing framework for cryptocurrency platforms such as wallet operators, exchanges, and custodians.

ChainCatcher news, according to BitKE, the Kenyan Web3 payment platform HoneyCoin has announced the completion of a $4.9 million funding round, led by Flourish Ventures. The funds will be used to scale operations, enrich the product line, and bring in executives. HoneyCoin founder David Nandwa started the company at the age of 19 in 2020, and the platform's monthly transaction volume now exceeds $150 million, serving 350 business clients and hundreds of thousands of users.HoneyCoin achieves instant or same-day settlements through a stablecoin-compatible platform, supporting businesses in 45 countries, and has established partnerships with institutions such as MoneyGram, UBA Bank, and Stripe. This funding will help further expand its team and compliance framework.

ChainCatcher news, it is reported that Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Information and Communication Technology, William Kabogo, has officially launched the national digital token KenyaNDT (KDT). The token is deployed on the Solana blockchain, becoming the first national-level digital asset in Sub-Saharan Africa.Kabogo stated that Kenya is formulating a national virtual asset policy and a draft bill for virtual asset service providers (VASP) to build a more regulated digital asset regulatory framework. He also revealed that the monthly digital asset trading volume for Kenyan citizens has exceeded $500 million, reflecting the high level of public participation in this field.

ChainCatcher news, Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Information and Communication Technology William Kabogo announced the official launch of the national digital token KenyaNDT (KDT), which is deployed on the Solana blockchain.Kabogo stated that Kenya is formulating a national virtual asset policy and a draft bill for virtual asset service providers (VASP) to build a more regulated digital asset regulatory framework. He also revealed that the monthly digital asset trading volume for Kenyan citizens has exceeded $500 million, reflecting the high level of public participation in this field.Although the Central Bank of Kenya has not clarified the fiat currency attributes or pegging mechanism of KenyaNDT, Kabogo also clarified that the token is not directly issued by the government, but its goals are highly aligned with the national digital strategy. Currently, the government is negotiating with the Central Bank, the Communications Authority, and the Ministry of Finance to advance the implementation of governance models and regulatory compliance.

ChainCatcher news, according to Techbuild, a major bank in Kenya recently suffered a serious internal attack, resulting in approximately 500 million Kenyan Shillings (about 4 million USD) being stolen. Investigations revealed that the perpetrators were external contractors responsible for the bank's IT systems, who manipulated the card management system to generate virtual cards linked to mobile wallets, subsequently transferring the funds rapidly.The stolen funds were laundered into multiple offshore wallets, with the stablecoin Tether (USDT) playing a key role throughout the money laundering process, making the money trail harder to trace. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Kenya has launched an investigation and is collaborating with the bank's cybersecurity team to track the hackers' paths. Relevant officials stated that those involved are expected to be arrested soon.**

ChainCatcher news, the Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Information, Communication and Digital Economy (MICDE) of Kenya, Hon. William Kabogo, stated on the X platform that Kenya will continue to vigorously promote the development of digital assets.He mentioned that Kenya's approach remains cautious, supporting innovation and financial inclusion while prioritizing public safety and sound regulation. The policies being formulated aim to balance opportunities with strong regulation.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the proposed VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider) bill in Kenya has raised concerns among local crypto startups, warning that the bill could give undue influence to lobbying groups associated with Binance, potentially undermining fair competition in the country's digital asset industry.It is reported that VAC has hosted regulatory dialogues sponsored by Binance multiple times and has a vested interest with it, now being proposed to be included as a member of the regulatory committee. Sources say that Binance pays VAC $6,000 per month for policy lobbying, which could lead to new regulations favoring Binance and weaken market fairness.In response, the head of VAC stated that it has engaged in policy communication with the IMF, the Central Bank of Kenya, and Parliament for two years, gaining national trust. Binance has not yet responded to this.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, the Kenyan High Court ruled on Monday that the World project (Worldcoin), founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, violated the country's privacy laws and ordered it to delete all collected biometric data within 7 days under the supervision of the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC).The court found that the project induced users to provide biometric information through cryptocurrency payments without obtaining valid consent. This is the second country to impose restrictions on World this month, following Indonesia.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin News, Kenya is drafting a new regulatory bill for digital assets.It is reported that nearly 10% of the country's population is involved in cryptocurrency activities. The proposed bill will focus on the licensing management of cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, the Kenyan government is drafting a law that requires virtual asset service providers to establish local offices to strengthen regulation of the rapidly growing digital asset industry.The proposed policy does not apply to assets that cannot be transferred, traded, or used for payment and investment outside a closed ecosystem, and aims to address the gaps in the legal and regulatory framework in the virtual asset sector, as well as issues related to consumer protection, governance, data privacy, and cybersecurity.Kenya introduced a 3% tax on digital asset trading income in 2023, but has yet to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for the industry. The government hopes to fill the regulatory gap with this move while addressing industry risks such as money laundering, terrorist financing, tax evasion, fraud, and cybercrime.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, Kenyan Finance Minister John Mbadi stated that the government is working to establish a legal and regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and has drafted a proposal for a "National Policy on Virtual Assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers." The draft aims to create a fair, competitive, and stable market for cryptocurrencies while addressing risks such as money laundering, terrorist financing, and consumer protection.The draft proposes to build a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework to manage virtual asset activities and their service providers (VASP), as well as to establish relevant standards and procedures. Its goal is to promote the healthy development of Kenya's virtual asset market.The proposal will be open for public feedback until January 24. If approved, Kenya will join countries like South Africa and Nigeria that have already implemented cryptocurrency regulations.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for the Treasury John Mbadi stated on Friday that Kenya is preparing legislation to legalize cryptocurrency, marking a significant shift in the government's stance.Kenya has banned the use of cryptocurrency, but the public continues to use it widely underground to circumvent restrictions. In a statement outlining the new policy, Mbadi said, "The emergence and development of virtual assets and virtual asset service providers have brought innovation to local and international financial systems, presenting vibrant opportunities and challenges."