Kenya: Transitional period for compliance with Virtual Asset Service Providers Act 2025 (Act No. 20 of 2025) including authorisation requirement for virtual asset offerings expires

On 4 November 2026, the one-year transitional period under section 47 of the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act 2025 (Act No. 20 of 2025) expires. From this date, all persons providing virtual asset services in or from Kenya must be in full compliance with the Act. Section 34 prohibits any person from issuing or purporting to issue a virtual asset offering in or from Kenya, or seeking the admission of such an asset to trading on a virtual asset trading platform, without prior written approval from the relevant regulatory authority. Natural persons remain ineligible to promote or issue a virtual asset offering in or from Kenya. A person who contravenes these requirements commits a criminal offence and is liable, upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding KES 10 million or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years, or both, in the case of an individual, and to a fine not exceeding KES 25 million in the case of a company.