(MENAFN- The Rio Times) Two neighboring countries are taking different but complementary bets on the future of money. Uganda is piloting a“digital shilling” backed by government treasury bonds, part of a $5.5 billion push to tokenize real-world assets-from agro-processing hubs to mines and solar plants.

The system is being developed by private partners and runs on a permissioned blockchain designed to work on ordinary smartphones.

Officials have explored a central-bank digital currency for years, but Uganda's central bank has not yet issued a formal notice saying it is running this pilot itself.

Next door, Kenya's parliament has passed a Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill at its third reading and sent it to President William Ruto for assent.

The law would license exchanges, brokers, wallet firms, and token issuers; split oversight between the Central Bank of Kenya (payments and custody) and the Capital Markets Authority (investment and trading); and enforce consumer-protection, KYC/AML, and advertising rules.



In plain terms: it aims to move crypto out of a gray zone and into a regulated marketplace. Behind the story is a practical reality.

Sub-Saharan Africa has become one of the fastest-growing crypto regions by on-chain value, with stablecoins widely used as a workhorse for payments and savings where local currencies are volatile.
East Africa Explores Digital Currencies with Bonds and Rules
Nigeria already launched a CBDC in 2021; Ghana and South Africa have tested their own versions; others are studying timelines. The demand exists. What's changing now is the plumbing and the rulebook.

Why this matters beyond the region: Uganda's bond-backed model is a live test of whether tokenized public assets and a digital national currency can lower costs, shorten payment times, and improve transparency for taxpayers and investors.

Kenya's licensing regime, if signed and implemented well, could set a repeatable template for other emerging markets trying to protect consumers without choking innovation.

What to watch next: an official update from the Bank of Uganda on scope and redemption mechanics for the pilot, and Kenya's detailed rulemaking after assent-capital and custody standards, stablecoin treatment, advertising guardrails. The details will decide whether serious firms build here and whether users actually trust the system.

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