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Converging digital asset frameworks across Africa are set to strengthen the region’s appeal to payments firms that favour consistent, enforceable regulation.
Regulators across Africa are accelerating efforts to establish formal, technology-neutral frameworks for digital assets, with stablecoins emerging as a regulatory priority.
As key jurisdictions seek to curb unregulated crypto activity and protect financial stability, they are positioning themselves as credible destinations for firms that prefer operating within predictable, rules-based environments.
This shift creates strategic openings for payments companies that favour such jurisdictions. As regulated local-currency stablecoins begin to influence settlement models, liquidity management and cross-border flows, organisations will see growing opportunities to expand their services.
Ghana is preparing a major regulatory shift with the forthcoming Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Bill 2025, developed jointly by the Bank of Ghana, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Intelligence Centre.
Meanwhile Kenya’s Virtual Asset Providers Act, which came into force in October 2025, is part of the country’s pivot from warning-based supervision to structured oversight.
Finally, South Africa is sending signals that it is preparing more detailed rules for digital asset providers around licensing, issuance, custody, reserve backing and anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) compliance.
These developments echo the introductions of regulatory frameworks for stablecoins and cryptocurrencies more widely in jurisdictions such as the EU, UK and US, which similarly acknowledge the growing role of digital assets in the financial system.
Building new frameworks
The draft version of Ghana’s VASP Bill reflects findings from the 2024 National AML/CFT/CPF Risk Assessment, which highlighted material exposure to money laundering, terrorism financing and consumer vulnerabilities arising from the absence of a dedicated supervisory framework.
The bill is designed to introduce an activity- and risk-based licensing model covering exchanges, custody, wallets, brokerage, advisory and tokenisation.
It is technology-neutral and aligned with international regimes such as the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation. A proposed Virtual Assets Regulatory Office would coordinate institutional oversight, and a national literacy initiative is intended to address persistent gaps in consumer awareness.
Ghana’s framework could shape wider West African regulatory development. For payments firms, early engagement will be essential: licensing, reporting and operational resilience requirements will be material and are likely to evolve quickly once the bill passes.
In Kenya, the Virtual Asset Providers Act (2025) introduces licensing categories for exchanges, custodial wallets, processors and token issuance platforms, coupled with explicit AML/CTF obligations.
For payments companies, the Kenyan framework materially reduces legal uncertainty. It also establishes a foundation for more interoperable cross-border models across East Africa if neighbouring jurisdictions begin aligning supervisory approaches.
South Africa, meanwhile, is set to tighten regulatory expectations following stability warnings. In its second Financial Stability Review, published in November 2025, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) warned that increasing stablecoin adoption coupled with regulatory gaps presents growing systemic risk.
The SARB’s view is that financial-system vulnerability will continue to rise until the country’s crypto-asset framework is strengthened.
This is a strong signal that South Africa is preparing more detailed rules around licensing, issuance, custody, reserve backing and AML/CTF compliance. Given the size of the domestic crypto market and the already-established crypto asset service provider licensing category, further regulatory tightening appears likely.
Super Group’s ZAR Supercoin
The launch of the ZAR Supercoin by Super Group, the parent company for global online sports betting and gaming businesses Betway and Spin, illustrates how regulatory clarity is already shaping market behaviour.
The coin is backed by cash reserves held with ABSA Group, independently attested monthly, and issued on the Solana blockchain using Fireblocks’ tokenisation infrastructure.
Warren Ross, managing director of Super Money SA, told Vixio that, “South Africa is probably the most forward-thinking and has the most clarity from a regulatory perspective since there are crypto asset service provider licences that are available, which governs the custody and issuance of the stablecoin”.
He added that, as a New York-listed firm operating only in regulated markets, Super Group would not have proceeded without a defined supervisory pathway.
Ross also noted that South Africa’s crypto adoption is among the highest in Africa, and that many users already hold blockchain-based liquidity that the stablecoin can efficiently tap, subject to strict know-your-customer (KYC) and AML controls.
The company plans to expand issuance to other African markets as regulatory conditions permit, ultimately aiming to build a suite of local-currency stablecoins.
Its rationale is that although dollar-denominated tokens will remain in demand, day-to-day economic activity requires dependable local-currency settlement.
Shared regulatory themes
As these prominent African jurisdictions develop their regulatory frameworks for digital assets, common trends are visible.
Regulators are converging on activity-based, technology-neutral frameworks, drawing on international models but tailoring them to local priorities. This means focusing on reserve backing, redemption rights, custody oversight and AML/CTF enforcement (including Travel Rule compliance).
In addition, authorities are seeking to avoid regulatory gaps that allow offshore stablecoin issuers to dominate remittance and FX flows without oversight. This is crucial, given that the widespread use of offshore stablecoins for remittances, informal FX and merchant settlement creates concerns around monetary sovereignty, consumer protection and systemic risk.
The frameworks under development are designed to prevent this dynamic from becoming entrenched, and to provide protections for both consumers and the established financial system.
Finally, the jurisdictions seem to have absorbed the lesson that robust regulation will attract firms, such as Super Group, that appreciate clear frameworks and are prepared to meet licensing, reserve transparency and KYC/AML standards.
Firms with weak governance or fragile business models may struggle to retain authorisation as compliance expectations harden – a trend regulators may view as both intentional and desirable.
Implications for payments firms
Regulatory tightening in the digital asset space across Africa is likely over the next 12 to 24 months. Ghana’s VASP Bill is expected to move through parliament, Kenya will begin supervising its new categories in earnest and South Africa is preparing further clarity around stablecoin treatment.
Payments providers should treat these developments not as peripheral crypto policy but as emerging infrastructure regulation.
The increased regulatory clarity should guide firms’ prioritisation. The promise of greater stability may make jurisdictions that deliver enforceable, transparent frameworks more attractive than those that retain ambiguous rules.
Firms that engage early, invest in compliance capabilities and align with supervisory expectations will be best placed to participate in the next phase of regulated digital-asset growth.
Additional reporting by Melanie Dayasena-Lowe
