Kenya moved from warnings to a licensing statute. The Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 is Act No. 20 of 2025, assented on 15 October 2025 and in force since 4 November 2025, and its implementing Virtual Asset Service Providers Regulations, 2026 were gazetted as Legal Notice No. 134 on 22 July 2026.
Holding and trading crypto is lawful; what is controlled is who may provide the service. Section 8(2) says a person shall not carry on the business of virtual asset services, or hold itself out as carrying it on, in or from Kenya unless licensed by the relevant regulatory authority — the phrase "in or from Kenya" reaches a foreign venue serving Kenyans.
A perpetual on BONK tracks price and does not confer ownership of the underlying — the same contract mechanics apply in every jurisdiction; what differs by country is legal status and funding rails.
8 venues open Bonk perps to traders in Kenya.
ApeX
Aster
gTrade
Helix
Hyperliquid
Lighter
PacificaFour steps from sign-up to an open position.
No crypto-specific tax stands in Kenyan income tax law today. In the Income Tax Act as officially consolidated to 15 May 2026, section 12F reads "[Repealed by Act No. 9 of 2025, s. 8]" and the corresponding rate paragraph in the Third Schedule reads "Deleted by Act No. 9 of 2025, s. 30(e)."; the words "digital asset", "virtual asset" and "cryptocurrency" do not appear anywhere in the consolidated text.
Trading BONK from Kenya: legal.
Regulator for Bonk trading in Kenya: Capital Markets Authority (CMA) covers virtual asset exchanges, trading, clearing and settlement platforms, brokers, advisers and tokenisation; the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) covers custodial wallet providers and payment processors.
For Bonk traders in Kenya: Identity verification before an account is opened is a statutory duty on the venue.
Kenya residents can trade Bonk on 14 platforms, including Aevo, ApeX and Aster.