Kenya Ranks Fifth In Crypto As Stablecoin Use Surges

By Benadeta Mwaura - Reporter

Kenya, 13 December 2025 - Kenya has quietly emerged as one of the world’s most active cryptocurrency markets, ranking fifth globally in crypto transaction volumes, driven largely by the rapid uptake of stablecoins.

The ranking, drawn from global exchange data, places Kenya alongside countries such as the United States, Nigeria, and Vietnam, underscoring how deeply digital assets have penetrated everyday financial activity in the country.

At the heart of this growth are stablecoins such as USDT and USDC, digital currencies pegged to the US dollar. Their stability has made them increasingly attractive for remittances, cross-border trade, merchant payments, and informal savings, particularly in an economy where businesses and households are sensitive to exchange-rate volatility and high transaction costs.

Industry data shows that Kenyans transacted hundreds of billions of shillings’ worth of stablecoins over the past year alone, placing the country among Africa’s largest stablecoin markets.

Yet Kenya’s rise as a global crypto hub has unfolded without a clear regulatory roadmap, a contradiction that legal analysts say is central to understanding the boom. According to legal experts at MMW Advocates, cryptocurrency has never been illegal in Kenya, but for years it existed in a regulatory grey zone.

Authorities, including the Central Bank of Kenya, consistently warned that crypto was not legal tender and was unregulated, but stopped short of banning its use.

This ambiguity created a paradox. While regulators framed cryptocurrency primarily as a financial risk, citing concerns over fraud, money laundering and consumer protection, adoption continued to accelerate.

Crypto activity expanded largely outside traditional banking channels, driven by peer-to-peer platforms and offshore exchanges, as Kenyans sought faster and cheaper ways to move money locally and across borders.

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The same regulatory hesitation helps explain the dominance of stablecoins in Kenya’s crypto ecosystem. Legal analysts note that stablecoins gained traction not as speculative assets, but as practical tools.

They offered dollar exposure without foreign bank accounts, reduced remittance costs, and enabled faster settlement for traders and freelancers, all while operating beyond the friction of conventional financial systems.

Kenya’s strong mobile-money culture also played a role. With millions already accustomed to digital wallets through platforms like M-Pesa, the leap to crypto-based transfers was smaller than in many other markets.

For many users, crypto became an extension of digital finance rather than a replacement for the shilling. However, the same legal uncertainty that allowed crypto adoption to flourish also exposed users to significant risks. MMW Advocates note that the absence of consumer protection frameworks left many vulnerable to scams, platform collapses and legal uncertainty, a reality that has increasingly concerned policymakers as transaction volumes surged.

That concern is now shaping a shift in policy. Kenya’s move to introduce a Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) framework signals the government’s first serious attempt to reconcile innovation with oversight.

Rather than encouraging crypto, the new approach reflects recognition that digital assets are already embedded in the economy, and that regulation is needed to protect users, improve transparency and bring the sector into the formal financial system.

For Kenya, the story is less about sudden technological enthusiasm and more about citizen-led adaptation. Crypto adoption did not wait for policy approval; it evolved in response to economic necessity, regulatory gaps and the demand for cheaper, faster financial services.

The country’s global ranking, analysts say, is the outcome of that reality, where innovation moved faster than the law. As regulation begins to catch up, the challenge will be balancing control with access, ensuring that the tools Kenyans have embraced for remittances, trade and savings are made safer without undermining the efficiencies that made them attractive in the first place.