Kenya now has formal regulation of virtual assets following the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025. Estate planning practice has had to evolve with it.
What counts as a digital asset?
Cryptocurrency (BTC, ETH and stablecoins), exchange account balances, NFTs, domain names, monetised social media accounts, cloud-stored intellectual property and digital business assets all fall within the modern estate.
The access problem
Unlike a bank account, a self-custody crypto wallet is unrecoverable without the seed phrase or private key. An executor with a grant of probate but no key has nothing to administer.
Estate planning for digital assets
Maintain a separate, sealed digital asset memorandum referenced in your will, securely stored with your advocate. List exchanges and wallets; do not put seed phrases in the will itself, which becomes a public record after probate.
Tax and compliance
The Finance Act, 2023 introduced a digital asset tax of 3% on the gross transfer value. Estates dealing in digital assets must account for this on disposals.
Cybersecurity for executors
Hardware wallets, multi-signature arrangements and reputable custodians materially reduce the risk of loss during the administration period.
Citations & further reading
Frequently asked questions
Do crypto holdings pass under a Kenyan will?
Yes. Cryptocurrency is property and forms part of the estate. The practical issue is access — without the keys, the asset is effectively lost.
Is cryptocurrency taxed in Kenya?
Yes. The Finance Act, 2023 introduced a 3% digital asset tax on the gross transfer value, collected by exchanges and self-assessed by individual holders.
Related practice areas
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Readers should obtain specific counsel on their particular matters.