During the review of the bill by the Parliamentary Committee on Trade and Economy, it was revealed that the National Public Prosecution Authority (RIB) had recorded 35 cases linked to cryptocurrency-related fraud, many of which affected large numbers of victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In recent years, several individuals were reportedly lured into investing in online currency schemes with promises of high profits, only to lose both their capital and expected returns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A notable case occurred in December 2025, when the Gasabo High Court convicted Manzi Sezisoni Davis of illegal foreign exchange trading, unauthorised cryptocurrency operations, fraud, and money laundering. He was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined $7.81 million (approximately Rwf 11.3 billion).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the trial, Manzi argued that he had begun operating in the sector before any regulations existed. He also stated that he had contributed to discussions that helped shape the current legal framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Government position<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Government of Rwanda stated that the law is principle-based, providing flexibility for implementation. Detailed operational requirements will be defined through subsidiary regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The law seeks to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing through digital assets, protect consumers and investors from fraud and misinformation, and address risks arising from high price volatility and the lack of intrinsic value in many crypto assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It also aims to promote transparency, integrity, and orderly market conduct, safeguard financial stability by reducing systemic risks linked to the financial sector, enhance cybersecurity, data protection, and operational resilience of crypto platforms, and support innovation in the digital asset ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regulation and oversight framework<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Trade and Economy, MP Munyangeyo Theogene, stated that the law is necessary given the rapid growth of cryptocurrency use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He warned that without proper regulation, fraudulent investment schemes could continue to exploit investors through false promises of high returns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Globally, cryptocurrency has grown into a widely used financial asset, with more than one billion people estimated to have engaged in digital asset transactions. Over 70 million users reportedly trade regularly. The global market is valued at over $2.35 trillion, with more than 9,000 cryptocurrencies traded across over 900 exchanges worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In East Africa, adoption is also increasing. Kenya has over 4 million users, Uganda approximately 2 million, Tanzania around 1.5 million, and Rwanda more than 350,000 users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the Chainalysis Crypto Adoption Index, Rwanda ranked 69th globally in 2021. However, it dropped to 142nd in 2023 following cautionary guidance issued by the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR), which urged the public to exercise caution when engaging in cryptocurrency trading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regulatory authority and licensing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Capital Market Authority (CMA) has been designated as the primary regulator of the sector. Its responsibilities include overseeing crypto service providers, coordinating with other regulatory institutions, and ensuring compliance with the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CMA will also issue licenses to both local and foreign entities seeking to operate in the cryptocurrency sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the new law, entry into the crypto business will require a minimum capital threshold, to be determined by regulations. This marks a shift from the previous environment where individuals could freely enter the market without safeguards, often resulting in investor losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Classification of digital assets<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The law classifies digital assets into three main categories, namely stable digital assets (stablecoins), tokenised real-world assets, and unbacked digital assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stable digital assets, also known as stablecoins, are cryptocurrencies whose value is linked to underlying reserves such as fiat currency, commodities, or other digital assets, and are designed to maintain a stable value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tokenised real-world assets refer to the digitisation of physical or financial assets using blockchain technology, where ownership is represented through digital tokens. These assets are required to be fully backed at 100 percent and securely held, with strict separation from other holdings, while public assets, infrastructure, artworks, and other non-assignable assets are excluded from tokenisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unbacked digital assets are cryptocurrencies that are not backed by any underlying asset and derive their value primarily from market demand and speculation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Chamber of Deputies of the Rwandan Parliament has adopted legislation regulating the trading of digital asset\u2013based currencies, commonly known as cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. The sector had previously operated without a clear legal framework, a situation that contributed to fraudulent activities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000111100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[151,69],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000111098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science-technology","tag-editors-choice","tag-homehighlights","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000111100,"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2194779803-33a8726c2066486ab511fb171723d4e7.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1500,"height":844,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2194779803-33a8726c2066486ab511fb171723d4e7.jpg","width":150,"height":84},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2194779803-33a8726c2066486ab511fb171723d4e7.jpg","width":300,"height":169},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2194779803-33a8726c2066486ab511fb171723d4e7.jpg","width":768,"height":432},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2194779803-33a8726c2066486ab511fb171723d4e7.jpg","width":1024,"height":576},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2194779803-33a8726c2066486ab511fb171723d4e7.jpg","width":1500,"height":844}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000111098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000111098"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000111098\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000111110,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000111098\/revisions\/2000111110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000111100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000111098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000111098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000111098"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000111098"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000111098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/OJMOWYNTXVLRJOYQWCFZ66C7MQ.jpg\")
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