Kenya CMA Seeks Blockchain Tool to Track Crypto Transactions

TLDR

• Kenya CMA seeks a tool to monitor crypto transactions across major chains

• The platform will flag risky wallets, mixers, and sanctioned entities

  

• CMA plans to trace funds across Bitcoin, Ethereum, and 20 more networks

• Kenya’s new virtual assets law gives CMA oversight of crypto exchanges

• The tool will help detect unlicensed offshore platforms serving Kenya

Kenya’s capital markets regulator plans to buy a blockchain analytics system to track crypto transactions across major networks. The Capital Markets Authority wants the tool as Kenya prepares to supervise licensed virtual asset firms. The system will support investigations, compliance checks, and oversight under the new virtual assets law.

CMA targets wider crypto transaction monitoring

The CMA wants a platform that can monitor Bitcoin, Ethereum and at least 20 other blockchain networks. The system must track transactions in real time, and it must also review past activity. The regulator can examine current flows and rebuild earlier transaction histories.

The tool will generate alerts for high-risk wallets, large transfers, mixers, and darknet-linked addresses. It will also screen entities against United Nations and OFAC sanctions lists. As a result, Kenya can strengthen checks against money laundering and sanctions evasion.

The platform will help investigators map wallet links and follow funds across different chains. It will also show transaction timelines and identify connected addresses. The CMA wants automated risk scores tied to fraud, ransomware, terrorism financing and other threats.

New virtual assets law drives supervision plan

Kenya introduced its first broad legal framework for digital assets through the Virtual Assets Service Providers Act. President William Ruto signed the law in October and it took effect the following month. The law created a formal path for licensing and supervising crypto businesses.

The framework divides duties between the Central Bank of Kenya and the CMA. The central bank oversees payment services, stablecoins and custodial wallet providers. The CMA regulates exchanges, brokers, advisers, asset managers, and tokenization platforms.

No crypto firm has received a licence under the new framework so far. However, existing operators have until November 2026 to meet the new rules. Kenya’s Treasury also issued draft regulations in March to support implementation.

Kenya joins wider blockchain surveillance shift

The CMA also wants to identify exchanges commonly used by residents in Kenya. It also plans to detect offshore platforms serving local users without approval. This approach gives the regulator more visibility across local and cross-border crypto activity.

Kenya remains one of Africa’s largest digital asset markets. Chainalysis estimated that users in Kenya received about $19 billion in crypto between July 2024 and June 2025. The report also placed Kenya fourth on the continent by received crypto value.

Global regulators already use similar blockchain intelligence tools for enforcement and tax work. Agencies in the United States and Britain have contracted firms such as Chainalysis and TRM Labs. Kenya now seeks comparable tools as it builds a stricter crypto oversight regime.

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