Alleged Kenyan Bill Proposes Expanded Definition of Securities to Include Crypto Assets – Bitcoin News

A bill that seeks to bring blockchain and crypto assets under the Kenyan Capital Markets Authority is reportedly to be debated in the country’s parliament. The bill also seeks to “broaden the meaning of ‘securities’ to capture digital currencies.” The persons who receive licenses from the regulator are also required to keep track of all digital currency transactions and pay tax on any winnings.

The bill proposes to expand the definition of securities

According to Amboko Julians, a Kenyan economist and blogger, the East African nation’s parliament is set to debate a bill that proposes to place blockchain technology and digital currencies under Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA). In addition to seeking to incorporate the definitions of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, Julians argued that the bill also proposes “to expand the meaning of ‘securities’ to capture digital currencies.”

In his Twitter on March 28 thread, Julians shared the supposed screenshots of the bill being sponsored by Kenyan lawmaker Abraham Kipsang Kirwa. As shown in the screenshots, Kirwa’s bill proposes that people who want to introduce a cryptocurrency must first obtain a license from the capital markets regulator.

“A person who intends to introduce a new cryptocurrency product shall apply to the Authority in the prescribed form for a licence,” the alleged bill.

Disclosure of crypto activity

The bill adds that the person submitting the application must also demonstrate to the regulator that the cryptocurrency in question “was subject to a product development period of no less than two years”. In addition, the regulator must be satisfied that the crypto was subjected to a product test “on a customer base of no less than ten thousand.”

To Kenyan residents who are recipients of the digital currency trading licenses, the bill states that such persons must register with the CMA. They are also required to keep track of all digital currency transactions and pay tax on any winnings.

Meanwhile, the bill also proposes that anyone in Kenya who owns or trades in digital currencies must disclose how much crypto was held, as well as when it was acquired and disposed of. If the bill is passed by the Kenyan Parliament, people dealing in digital currencies will be required to apply for a license from the CMA within six months.

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Terence Zimwara

Terence Zimwara is a Zimbabwean award-winning journalist, writer and author. He has written extensively about the economic problems in some African countries, as well as how digital currencies can provide Africans with an escape route.