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Uganda has officially launched its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot, advancing its vision for a tokenized national economy, even as neighboring Kenya edges closer to passing comprehensive crypto regulations.
The Uganda CBDC initiative is part of a broader partnership between blockchain infrastructure company Global Settlement Network (GSN) and Ugandan developer Diacente Group to tokenize $5.5 billion in real-world assets. The pilot, unveiled on Wednesday, reflects Uganda’s commitment to exploring blockchain technology for economic modernization and financial inclusion.
This development follows Kenya’s Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) bill, which cleared its final parliamentary hurdle on Tuesday and now awaits President William Ruto’s signature to become law. Together, these moves place East Africa at the forefront of digital currency experimentation and crypto regulation in the region.
According to a Chainalysis report from September 2025, Sub-Saharan Africa ranked as the third-fastest-growing region for crypto adoption, processing over $205 billion in on-chain value between July 2024 and June 2025.
By integrating tokenization and CBDCs into Uganda’s development roadmap, we’re creating transparent, tech-driven ecosystems that attract new capital, empower local industries, and scale sustainable growth from the ground up, Edgar Agaba, Chairman, Diacente Group.
The Uganda CBDC is a digitized version of the Ugandan shilling, built on GSN’s permissioned blockchain and backed by treasury bonds, according to an official GSN press release. The pilot is designed to operate within Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) frameworks aligned with both local and international compliance standards.
Accessible via smartphone, the Uganda CBDC offers a secure digital wallet experience aimed at expanding financial access, particularly in rural communities where traditional banking remains limited. The initiative also integrates with Uganda’s broader tokenization strategy, which seeks to digitize infrastructure across key sectors such as agro-processing, mining, and renewable energy.
This project positions Uganda as a hub for blockchain innovation in East Africa, said Joseph Nsubuga, Financial Technology Advisor at GSN, in a statement to The Independent Uganda. By backing the CBDC with treasury instruments, the government ensures credibility and transparency while reducing volatility.
Uganda’s central bank has confirmed that the pilot’s primary objective is to test interoperability, payment efficiency, and user adoption metrics before scaling nationwide.
The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) previously identified Nigeria as Africa’s first country to launch a CBDC in 2021, while Ghana, South Africa, and Rwanda have ongoing pilots. Egypt has set a 2030 launch goal, and Kenya continues research and public consultation phases.
Kenya’s VASP bill, introduced in January 2025, aims to bring structure and oversight to one of Africa’s most active crypto markets. The legislation covers licensing, consumer protection, and supervision of exchanges, brokers, and wallet operators, marking a significant milestone in Kenya’s digital finance policy.
Once signed into law, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) will regulate payments and custody operations, while the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) will oversee investment and trading activities.
The bill also mandates robust KYC/AML compliance, aligning with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards and introducing penalties for deceptive marketing or unlicensed operations.
This framework offers legal certainty and investor protection, ensuring Kenya can attract responsible innovation while curbing illicit activity, Beatrice Achieng, Policy Analyst, Blockchain Association of Kenya.
Analysts note that Kenya’s regulatory clarity could support cross-border interoperability between the Uganda CBDC and private crypto platforms, potentially creating one of the world’s most connected digital finance corridors.
Africa’s crypto industry continues to expand rapidly. According to Statista, over 75 million Africans are expected to use crypto by 2026, representing a user penetration rate of 5.9% and projected revenues of $5.1 billion.
Meanwhile, Chainalysis reported on Oct. 2 that stablecoins account for roughly 43% of the region’s total transaction volume. Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, and Zambia lead the pack with Uganda ranked seventh.
For policymakers and investors alike, the launch of the Uganda CBDC underscores Africa’s growing ambition to define its own digital finance models rather than adopt Western templates.
“Africa’s tokenization movement is no longer theoretical as it’s happening now,” said Moses Aluma, fintech economist at Makerere University. “The Uganda CBDC pilot shows that the continent is not waiting for permission to innovate.”
As the Uganda CBDC scales and Kenya’s crypto bill nears enactment, East Africa is poised to become a testbed for how centralized digital currencies and regulated crypto markets can coexist shaping the continent’s financial future for decades to come.
