Kenya is moving forward with a significant blockchain surveillance initiative. According to tender documents, the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) plans to acquire an analytics platform designed to track digital asset transactions, investigate suspicious activities, and monitor regulatory compliance. The system is expected to follow transactions on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and at least 20 other blockchains both in real time and retrospectively.
Full-spectrum monitoring: from coin mixers to darknet addresses
The platform will automatically flag high-risk wallets, large transfers, coin mixing services, addresses associated with the dark web, and entities or individuals on sanction lists. All transactions will be screened against the United Nations and the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions databases. Documents show the tool can map relationships between wallets, reconstruct transaction timelines, track cross-chain fund flows, and assign risk scores related to money laundering, ransomware, fraud, and terrorism financing. The regulator also aims to identify which exchanges Kenyan users frequent and pinpoint unlicensed foreign platforms serving the domestic market.
These capabilities closely resemble offerings from blockchain intelligence firms such as Chainalysis, TRM Labs, and Elliptic. Similar procurement trends appear globally — US Immigration and Customs Enforcement last year initiated purchases of forensic review software from both TRM Labs and Chainalysis, while the UK's HMRC began collaborating with TRM Labs to flag suspicious activities.
New legal framework: central bank and CMA share oversight
This procurement is directly tied to Kenya's Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, signed by President William Ruto in October 2025 and effective from November 2025. The law introduces a comprehensive legal framework for the country's crypto sector for the first time. Oversight is divided between two bodies: the Central Bank of Kenya handles payments, stablecoins, and custodial wallets; the Capital Markets Authority covers exchanges, brokerages, investment advisors, and tokenization platforms. This aligns with anti-money laundering standards set by the Financial Action Task Force. No company has yet received a license, and existing operators must comply by November 2026.
Market size: Africa's fourth-largest, over 6 million users
According to Chainalysis, Kenyan users acquired approximately $19 billion in crypto assets between July 2024 and June 2025, making Kenya the fourth-largest crypto market on the continent. An estimated 6 million Kenyans now use digital assets, with a significant portion of transactions conducted via peer-to-peer and informal channels. The new surveillance platform is set to reshape how this market operates under regulatory oversight.