3 entries.
Law nº 023/2026 of 25/05/2026 regulating virtual asset business was published in Rwanda's Official Gazette n° Special of 28/05/2026 and, under article 40, came into force that day with no transitional period. The Capital Market Authority is the Regulatory Authority, working with the National Bank of Rwanda on stability and payments (art. 8). Six criminal offences commenced with it, from FRW 15,000,000 for unlicensed marketing to FRW 150,000,000 for issuing virtual assets without approval, with personal liability for directors who mislead or obstruct the CMA (art. 37). Article 15(1) bars natural persons from virtual asset business outright. Licensing, capital thresholds, liquidity ratios and the whole administrative sanctions regime (art. 32) are deferred to regulations that had not been issued as of 1 September 2026, checked against the gazette index to 25 August and the CMA's own regulations, guidelines and directives pages. Firms are exposed under article 34 and cannot apply. Article 27(2)(b) ties every provider's personal data measures to Law 058/2021, already in force under the NCSA.
Ghana's Virtual Asset Service Providers Act (Act 1154) passed Parliament on 19 December 2025 and received presidential assent on 30 December, making it the third African standalone digital asset statute enacted in the October to December 2025 quarter, after Kenya and Nigeria. Africa's earlier standalone regimes include Mauritius (VAITOS Act 2021), Botswana (2022), Namibia (2023) and Seychelles (2024), so this is a claim about the pace of that quarter, not about being third on the continent. The model is co-regulatory: Bank of Ghana supervises the monetary and payments dimension, SEC Ghana the securities dimension. Licensing is mandatory for all VASPs, AML obligations attach, and crypto influencers reportedly fall within the licensing net. The target is an estimated $3 billion informal market involving roughly 17% of Ghanaian adults. BoG's supervisory rules were slated to roll out in phases through 2026.
The Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 received presidential assent on 15 October 2025 and came into force on 4 November 2025, making it the first standalone virtual asset statute enacted in Africa. Supervision is split: CBK takes digital asset issuance and custodial services, while CMA takes exchanges, brokers and trading platforms. An earlier draft's standalone regulator, VARA, was dropped. The 3% digital asset tax was repealed in favour of excise duty on VASP service fees, a materially better outcome for holders and P2P users. Section 47 gives existing VASPs one year from commencement to comply. That clock runs out on 4 November 2026, and every VASP touching the Kenyan market needs a licensing position before then.
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