The Treasury has drafted a Unclaimed Financial Assets National Policy that would extend the remit of the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA) to include cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.
The draft states that “the existing framework inadequately covers near-cash and digital assets, creating valuation risks and ambiguity.”
Chainalysis data show Kenyans moved KSh740 billion in crypto to June 2026, up from KSh505 billion the previous year, while an IMF technical report identified Kenya as the fourth-largest crypto market in sub-Saharan Africa.
One market participant cited by the IMF put 2025 crypto transactions at KSh779.7 billion, and another estimated stablecoin flows between KSh389.8 billion and KSh519.8 billion, with retail activity accounting for roughly 90 per cent of the market.
UFAA currently oversees conventional unclaimed assets that rose from KSh241 billion in 2018 to KSh394 billion in 2025, with reunified assets increasing from KSh199 million to KSh2.8 billion, an eight per cent reunification rate that remains below the authority’s 20 per cent target and the global benchmark of 40 per cent.
The authority also reports KSh115.03 billion in foreign-currency remittances, 2.03 billion idle share units, 4,200 safe-deposit boxes and 9.9 million-unit trusts, and it has paid KSh2.84 billion to 39,203 claimants.
To cope with digital assets, the Treasury proposes bolstering UFAA’s capacity through additional staff, decentralised operations and modern data-management technology, together with standardised reporting formats that convert foreign-currency assets into shillings at prevailing rates.
The policy notes that self-custody wallets, private-key control and valuation of volatile tokens pose challenges not encountered with traditional bank deposits or shares.
Kenya is simultaneously rolling out a Virtual Asset Service Providers framework overseen by the Central Bank of Kenya and the Capital Markets Authority, which incorporates the Financial Action Task Force Travel Rule and sets minimum paid-up capital of KSh100 million for exchanges and KSh300 million for stablecoin issuers.
“The government will review, harmonise, and strengthen the legal and regulatory framework governing unclaimed financial assets to address these gaps, enhance compliance, improve enforcement, and support efficient, inclusive, and transparent management of all financial asset classes,” the policy says.
