Kenya lowers minimum paid-up capital requirement for stablecoin issuers by 40% to $2.32 million

According to Odaily, Kenya's National Treasury has lowered the minimum paid-up capital requirement for stablecoin issuers by 40% to approximately $2.32 million, below the threshold of nearly $3.9 million in last March's draft rules.

Under the new regulations, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) will regulate stablecoin issuers and other virtual asset service providers and may require local platforms to halt the offering of offshore-issued tokens.

The framework requires at least 30% of customer funds to be held in independent trust accounts at Kenyan commercial banks, with the remaining funds to be invested in eligible local assets. Fiat-backed stablecoin reserves must match the pegged currency.

Issuers must maintain either $463,300 in liquid capital or 100% of liquid liabilities, whichever is higher, and hold qualified reserve assets on a 1:1 basis. Issuers are also required to conduct quarterly stress tests, submit monthly reserve and transaction reports, and ensure customers can redeem tokens at face value within two business days.