Kenya is preparing to launch a blockchain surveillance platform as it gears up to regulate licensed cryptocurrency businesses under its newly enacted virtual assets law. The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has published a tender seeking an advanced blockchain analytics system capable of monitoring more than 20 blockchain networks, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, in both real-time and retrospectively.
The platform is designed to strengthen compliance oversight by generating automated alerts for high-risk wallets, unusual large transfers, coin mixers, darknet-linked addresses, and entities appearing on sanctions lists from the United Nations and the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control. The system would also map wallet relationships, reconstruct transaction histories, trace funds across multiple blockchains, and assign risk scores tied to money laundering, ransomware, fraud, and terrorism financing. Additionally, the CMA aims to use the tool to identify the most frequently used exchanges by Kenyans and detect unapproved offshore platforms serving local users.
This move follows the Virtual Assets Service Providers Act, signed into law by President William Ruto in October 2026, which divided oversight between the Central Bank of Kenya and the CMA. While the central bank handles payment services, stablecoins, and custodial wallets, the CMA is responsible for exchanges, brokers, investment advisers, and tokenization platforms, aligning with Financial Action Task Force standards. No licenses have been issued yet; operators have until November 2026 to comply. In March, the National Treasury released draft regulations, and the Finance Bill 2026 proposed additional reporting requirements, including annual reports to the Kenya Revenue Authority and international data exchange under global standards.
Kenya remains one of Africa’s largest crypto markets, receiving an estimated $19 billion in cryptocurrency between July 2024 and June 2025, with over six million users. The analytics tender mirrors platforms from companies like Chainalysis, TRM Labs, and Elliptic, already adopted by regulators and law enforcement agencies worldwide, including U.S. agencies and Britain’s HMRC.
