Circle, the company behind the the USDC stablecoin and infrastructure, is reportedly in talks with Kenyan regulators to introduce the Circle Payments Network into the market.
According to the special envoy to the President in the state department for foreign affairs in Kenya, Ambassador Philip Thigo, Circle is in consultative talks with the Kenya National Treasury as it moves to operationalize the regulations.
In a statement, Thigo said:
“Had a productive conversation with 𝗡𝗶𝗺𝗮 𝗘𝗹𝗺𝗶, 𝗩𝗣 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 & 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗲, on Kenya’s newly signed 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 (𝗩𝗔𝗦𝗣) 𝗔𝗰𝘁, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. Kenya is now among a small group of 𝗷𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿, 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀.
That shift is not about crypto hype – it is about credibility, integrity, and capital formation.”
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The ambassador also higlighted the need for creating trusted rails that aligh with the U.S GENIUS Act and other recognized jurisdictions like Singapore, saying:
“Well-designed regulation can 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗛.𝗘 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗥𝘂𝘁𝗼’𝘀 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗶𝗻 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝘆𝗮’𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 – from compliant digital payments and tokenisation to programmable public infrastructure.
We also discussed the importance of interoperability – aligning with frameworks such as the 𝗨.𝗦. 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦 𝗔𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗲 – 𝘀𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘀. Looking forward to showcasing these opportunities at Kenya International Investment Conference in March [2026].”
Circle has already announced the expansion of its Circle Payments Network (CPN) with live flows already possible across various jurisdictions. In Africa, Circle highlighted live flows in Nigeria with upcoming launches expected in Ghana and Kenya.
Interestingly, Circle also highlighted that it has:
55 financial institutions enrolled, and
74 financial institutions in eligibility reviews
within these jurisdictions, which could signal talks and integrations within these jurisdictions.
Circle is a regulated stablecoin issuer in the United States and among only a handful of stablecoin issuers that have received conditional approval by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national trust bank charter.
“New entrants into the federal banking sector are good for consumers, the banking industry and the economy,” said Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould.
“They provide access to new products, services and sources of credit to consumers, and ensure a dynamic, competitive and diverse banking system.
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According to the Circle update:
“CPN [Circle Payments Network] connects banks, PSPs, VASPs, and enterprises to enable consumer, business, and institutional payment use cases via stablecoins.”
Speaking to BitKE, industry experts in Kenya say this move will likely see Circle work banks such as KCB and payment systems like Safaricom opening up access to the USDC stablecoin without the need for intermediaries.
Stablecoin transaction volumes reached an all-time high in 2025, buoyed by strong flows in digital dollar tokens, according to a report by Bloomberg. The most active token in the market was USD Coin (USDC) which accounted for about $18.3 trillion in transactions during the year (2025).
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This is an ongoing story and BitKE will continue to keep you updated as it progresses.
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