The Bank of Uganda (BoU) has publicly shared its foundational blueprint for crypto regulation, signaling Kampala’s intention to build a formal legal framework governing virtual assets and service providers. The announcement was made during the Kampala Blockchain Summit 2025, which comes amid rising concern over unregulated digital-asset activity across the country.
BoU Governor Michael Atingi-Ego said Uganda can no longer delay legal clarity, noting that roughly 84.5% of virtual-asset activity in Uganda now occurs on decentralised platforms, a rate markedly higher than the Sub-Saharan African average. He warned that the current pattern leaves vulnerabilities exposed and regulators unaware of blind spots, volumes, flows, or potential abuses.
To address this, BoU proposes a crypto-regulation architecture built on six key pillars: licensing and fit-and-proper vetting of service providers; client-asset protection with segregation and capital standards; compliance with AML/CTF and real-time transaction visibility; cybersecurity and operational resilience; robust market-integrity rules to prevent manipulative trading and scams; and mandatory transparency with real-time data reporting to authorities.
Governor Atingi-Ego emphasised that regulation must be functional and responsive. He proposed a governance model similar to that adopted recently in neighbouring countries, with a clear division of roles: BoU to oversee payment and stablecoin-related operations, and the Uganda Capital Markets Authority (CMA) to regulate investment-linked crypto products, all under coordination with a proposed Financial Integrity Authority to strengthen oversight and risk management.
The BoU also urged the crypto industry to take advantage of existing regulatory sandboxes, which it describes as “practical learning laboratories” for both regulators and innovators. The message: regulation will aim to balance innovation and integrity, not stifle ambition.
As Uganda moves toward formalising its crypto-regulation framework, the coming weeks will likely see draft legislation refined, stakeholder consultations launched, and implementation timelines defined. For now, the regulator has made clear: crypto will no longer operate in a legal grey area , it must be built on transparency, accountability, and compliance.
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