June 2021: Kenyan’s crypto market needs regulation to boost its growth and protect against fraud
According to Kenya’s Crypto Experts¹, regulatory uncertainty and the slow adoption of cryptocurrencies continue to be major obstacles to the growth of the digital currency market in Kenya. Kenya’s Crypto Experts also claim that the Kenyan industry will remain open to fraud without swift regulation.
Despite Kenya’s crypto experts recommendations² and the apparent adoption of crypto assets by Kenyans, the adoption of cryptocurrencies by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has been slowed down by “endless discussions on the development of regulations”, according to the experts report.
June 2021, Kenyan Banks Warn Clients Against Buying Crypto
A few banks started warning customers about risks associated with cryptocurrency trading.
According to BitcoinKE³, one of these banks, NCBA Bank Kenya, sent out cautionary emails to clients who have previously transacted on crypto exchanges.
Here is an excerpt from the email:
“In accordance to Central Bank of Kenya’s circular №14 of 2015, virtual currencies such as Bitcoin are not legal tender in Kenya. No protection, therefore, exists for you as our customer in the event that the platform holding or trading in cryptocurrency fails or goes out of business.”
Read the full mail by clicking on the link below³.
References
- Experts: Regulatory Uncertainty and Slow Embrace Hampering Crypto Growth in Kenya (Bitcoin News, June 2021)
- The Distributed Ledger and Artificial Intelligence Taskforce Repor (Kenyan Ministry of ICT, July 2019)
- Selected Kenyan Banks Are Sending Cautionaries to Users Trading on Crypto Exchanges (BitcoinKE, June 2021)
