By Sam Kim, Co-Founder, GoChapaa

Late in 2025, Kenya achieved a milestone that crypto advocates across Africa have long awaited: passage of its Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Act, bringing forward the country’s first comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets and virtual asset service providers.This is a development with profound implications for 2026, not only for Kenya, but for the evolution of the crypto ecosystem across the continent.

For years, African crypto markets have operated in a grey zone: vibrant activity and enthusiastic adoption, but without clear statutory guardrails. In Kenya, diverse digital asset services, from custodial wallets to token platforms, were until recently unlicensed and unregulated,…