Virtual asset service providers are licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya or the Capital Markets Authority under an Act in force since November 2025; neither authority's site announced a licence by 14 October 2026. The authorisations counted on this page are the Central Bank of Kenya's payment service provider authorisations and money remittance provider licences, held by payment firms, not virtual asset licences. This page sets out the authorisations a stablecoin business needs in Kenya, who grants each one and what it covers, alongside how many companies hold them today. The figures come from the registers Anvesan reads and are updated as those registers change.
RegulatorCentral Bank of Kenya (CBK) and Capital Markets Authority (CMA), each for the activities the First Schedule of the VASP Act gives it
LawVirtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 (No. 20 of 2025), and the Virtual Asset Service Providers Regulations, 2026
These 78 authorisations belong to 76 companies. The company-level records are in Atlas Pro.
What those authorisations permit
Moving value for clients78
One authorisation can cover several activities, so these figures overlap.
The licences: who grants them, how long, what they cost
The statutory clock is the formal decision period, where the regulator publishes one. “Observed” is the real-world timeline reported by applicants, not a figure the regulator sets. Capital is the regulatory minimum, not legal or advisory fees. Where a figure is not yet available, we show “Unavailable”; where one exists but Anvesan has not verified it, we show “Not sourced”.
The Atlas column maps a licence to a tracked licence family only where the two are the same thing. Where they are not, it reads Not mapped, and the family counts are in Authorisations by licence above.
Kenya payment service provider authorisation
43 in the Atlas
Who grants it
Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and Capital Markets Authority (CMA), each for the activities the First Schedule of the VASP Act gives it
What triggers it
Held for moving value for clients, by the permissions recorded on the authorisations themselves.
Legal basis
Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 (No. 20 of 2025), and the Virtual Asset Service Providers Regulations, 2026
Statutory clockNot sourced
Anvesan has not verified this for this regime yet. It is added when it is.
What it takes in practiceNot sourced
Anvesan has not verified this for this regime yet. It is added when it is.
Capital requirement
Not sourced
Application feeNot sourced
Kenya money remittance provider licence
35 in the Atlas
Who grants it
Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and Capital Markets Authority (CMA), each for the activities the First Schedule of the VASP Act gives it
What triggers it
Held for moving value for clients, by the permissions recorded on the authorisations themselves.
Legal basis
Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 (No. 20 of 2025), and the Virtual Asset Service Providers Regulations, 2026
Statutory clockNot sourced
Anvesan has not verified this for this regime yet. It is added when it is.
What it takes in practiceNot sourced
Anvesan has not verified this for this regime yet. It is added when it is.
Capital requirement
Not sourced
Application feeNot sourced
What to watch
Regulatory changes only: what is being decided, by whom, and when. Company-level licence changes are tracked in Atlas Pro.
Questions this page answers
How many companies hold a stablecoin-related licence in Kenya?
Atlas tracks 78 authorisations across 76 companies in Kenya, read from official registers and checked on 14 October 2026. Of those, 78 are licensed, 0 are in the pipeline, and 0 have ended.
Who regulates stablecoins in Kenya?
Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and Capital Markets Authority (CMA), each for the activities the First Schedule of the VASP Act gives it. The framework is Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 (No. 20 of 2025), and the Virtual Asset Service Providers Regulations, 2026.
What licence does a stablecoin business need in Kenya?
This page lists 2 authorisations, each with the regulator that grants it and what triggers the requirement. Which one applies depends on the activity.
How long does a licence take in Kenya, and what capital does it need?
Anvesan has not verified decision timelines or capital thresholds for Kenya yet, so this page does not publish them. It publishes no figure it cannot cite.
How these numbers are made
Registers read
The official registers used for this regime, named in the Registers read line. Where a public register does not provide a record, the source is identified separately.
Cadence
Checked daily. Changes are recorded when they appear in the register, together with the date they were seen. Last checked 14 October 2026.
Licence detail reviewed
15 October 2026. Counts are refreshed daily. Licence terms, timelines and capital thresholds are reviewed separately because they come from the underlying rules rather than the register.
Known gap
“Unavailable” means the figure does not yet exist or has not been published. “Not sourced” means the figure exists but Anvesan has not yet verified it. Neither is estimated.