Africa crypto news: Kenya VASP, Uganda CBDC

After months of debate, Kenya’s parliament has passed the country’s first comprehensive crypto legislation. VASP will be key in driving adoption and creating a regulatory framework for crypto businesses in the country.

In Uganda, an initiative to launch the country’s first Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is going into effect. CBDC continues to lose momentum as stablecoins, like the USDC and USDT, take over

Meanwhile, approximately 650,000 crypto merchants in South Africa can now accept Bitcoin payments following the integration of the Lightning Network (LN). The LN scales the Bitcoin mainnet, enabling low-fee transactions. Presently, the Bitcoin Lightning Network has a capacity of over $471M worth of BTC.

(Source: 1ml)

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Other than the Floki crypto funding of the WWFA in Malawi, let’s look at stories making continental headlines this week:

Kenya Crypto News: Parliament Passes VASP Bill

The Kenyan parliament has passed the Virtual Asset Providers Bill (VASP), which is the country’s first comprehensive crypto legislation. This bill creates a licensing and supervisory framework for crypto service providers in the country.

One of the most critical introductions is the multi-agency regulation of the crypto sector. Kenya’s Central Bank and the Communications Authority of Kenya have a role rather than having a single regulator for the sector.

One notable requirement for service providers is having a physical office in the country and at least three natural persons on their board of directors. These measures ensure Kenya better complies with international requirements in AML/KYC.

Binance-linked lobby group, Virtual Assets Chamber of Commerce, played a role in changes to the bill.

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Uganda Crypto News: Central Bank Launches CBDC Pilot

Uganda has launched a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot programme.

This CBDC will entail a digital Ugandan shilling backed by treasury bonds and will run on a blockchain.

It will feature a $5.5Bn real-world asset tokenization project led by Global Settlement Network (GSN) and Diacente Group.

GSN co-founder Ryan Kirkley explained the initiative as follows:

“We’re building infrastructure that goes beyond theory — a programmable economy grounded in real assets, regulatory collaboration, and mass accessibility,”

Some target assets for the new portfolio are food production, mining, renewable energy, and trade.

Uganda has a broad range of possible tokenized assets, and this project intends to leverage these possibilities.

However, it is still unclear whether the country’s government will enact any regulatory changes to promote the success of this initiative.

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South Africa Crypto News: Bitcoin Lightning Network Users Reach 650,000

South African merchant crypto acceptance has soared to 650,000 after Scan to Go integrated the Lightning Network for Bitcoin payments.

Presently, the Africa’s economic powerhouse already boasts the best numbers on the continent in crypto payments, and this move raises that number even higher.

Bitcoin just became spendable at 650,000+ merchants across South Africa 🦡⚡
We recently announced our partnership with Scan to Pay to let South Africans spend their Bitcoin anywhere from grocery stores to petrol stations, without the usual hassle.
Here’s what’s different:… pic.twitter.com/P2Tukrl4qn
— Money⚡️Badger (@MoneyBadgerPay) October 8, 2025

Due to its inherent architecture, Bitcoin has historically faced scalability problems. The Lightning Network came to improve payment efficiency and ensure Bitcoin could become more compatible with merchants’ instant settlement needs.

Building financial ecosystems through Lightning and #Bitcoin in the townships of Cape Town.
Today I’ve visited a project called @bitcoinkhaya in Khayelitsha, the largest township in Cape Town.
They want to bank all the unbanked through Lightning.
True legends. pic.twitter.com/kiVxG1pwuI
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) March 3, 2023

The total number of merchants now accepting crypto payments is approximately 650,000. This increased rate is a strong representation of South African business. Crypto continues to achieve impressive integration into the real economy and will continue to grow if current trends hold.

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