Parliament approved a landmark law creating Rwanda’s first legal framework for digital assets. The law grants the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) explicit power to license and supervise virtual asset service providers, oversee token issuers, and enforce consumer protection standards. It also provides legal definitions for cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and tokenized assets, enabling the regulatory regime now being drafted. The CMA is preparing secondary regulations to clarify how licensing will work before the framework becomes fully operational. All service providers and issuers must obtain licenses before operating in Rwanda, including exchanges, custodians, brokers, and platforms that convert between fiat and digital assets. Cryptocurrencies will be analyzed independently, with bitcoin facing heightened scrutiny due to volatility, while stablecoins and tokenized assets may receive different review based on reserve backing.
"Parliament passed a law granting Rwanda's CMA explicit power to license and regulate virtual asset providers. Jerome Ndayambaje noted bitcoin faces high scrutiny, while some of the world's 9,000 cryptos will be blocked. The CMA is currently drafting secondary regulations to formally launch its licensing regime for crypto firms."
"The legislation, passed earlier this year, gives the CMA explicit authority to license and supervise virtual asset service providers, oversee token issuers and enforce consumerprotection standards. It also introduces legal definitions for cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and tokenized assets a prerequisite for the regulatory regime now being drafted. With the bill awaiting implementation through secondary regulations, the CMA is moving to clarify how the new oversight system will function."
"Jerome Ndayambaje, a digital innovation analyst at the authority, said all service providers and issuers will be required to obtain licenses before operating in Rwanda. The rules will apply to exchanges, custodians, brokers and platforms that convert between fiat and digital assets. We are not going to allow all the 9,000 cryptocurrencies that exist globally to operate automatically in Rwanda, he said."
"Every virtual asset will be analyzed independently before it is approved for listing or trading. Ndayambaje said cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin are highly volatile and will face heightened scrutiny. Stablecoins and tokenized assets, he added, may undergo a different level of review because they are backed by underlying reserves. Stablecoins, which are backed by assets such as fiat currencies or other reserves, are generally designed to maintain stable val"
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