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Kenya's CMA Targets $19B Crypto Market with Blockchain Surveillance
Regulator's blockchain analytics platform will flag suspicious wallets, mixing services, and sanctioned addresses. Kenya's $19B crypto market faces new oversight as no firms are licensed yet.
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Kenya's capital markets regulator is moving to buy a blockchain surveillance platform that can track transactions across Bitcoin, Ethereum, and more than 20 other networks. The system will identify suspicious wallet addresses, large transfers, and mixing services. It will also cross-reference addresses against sanctions lists from the United Nations and the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control, the regulator said in a tender document.
The platform will give the Capital Markets Authority the ability to monitor real-time transaction flows and reconstruct historical moves. Investigators will use it to trace wallet relationships and track assets moving between blockchains. The CMA requires automated risk scoring that flags exposure to fraud, ransomware, and terrorist financing.
Regulatory framework
Kenya passed its first comprehensive crypto law in October, when President William Ruto signed the Virtual Assets Service Providers Act. Implementation began the following month. The law splits oversight: the Central Bank supervises payment infrastructure, stablecoin issuers, and custodial wallets. The CMA governs trading platforms, brokerages, advisory services, fund managers, and tokenization ventures.
No crypto business has secured a license yet. Companies operating in Kenya have until November 2026 to comply. The Treasury released draft implementing regulations in March.
Exposure and timing