Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, will be the lead sponsor of TKWS Board of Trailblazers – Virtual Assets in Banking, taking place this Thursday in Nairobi.
The closed-door convening, hosted by The Kenyan Wall Street, brings together senior banking executives, regulators, and fintech leaders. The event is also supported by the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA); the umbrella body representing banks in Kenya, and the Capital Markets Authority (CMA).
The TKWS Board of Trailblazers is a thought leadership and policy dialogue forum, rather than a product showcase. Senior bank executives attending the session are expected to engage on a central question: how can banks responsibly interact with virtual assets once regulations are in place?
The event comes as Kenya accelerates conversations around the regulation of virtual assets, following the release of draft Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Regulations by the National Treasury.
Stablecoins at the Centre of the Conversation
At the heart of the discussion is the growing role of stablecoins, a category of cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value — typically pegged to the US dollar through reserves of cash or cash-equivalent assets. Stablecoins have emerged as a foundational layer of the digital asset ecosystem, particularly in emerging markets.
Globally, more than $308 billion worth of stablecoins are in circulation today, with Tether’s USDT accounting for roughly 60% of that total. In Africa, USDT has become the most widely used stablecoin, powering cross-border payments, remittances, trading, and on-chain settlement in markets where access to dollars is often constrained and traditional cross-border banking remains costly and slow.
Proponents argue that stablecoins could represent the future of digital money — enabling faster, cheaper, and more transparent cross-border transactions while operating alongside, rather than replacing, existing financial systems.
Why This Matters for Banks
For Kenya’s banking sector, the rise of stablecoins presents both an opportunity and a challenge.
On one hand, stablecoins could complement banks’ existing infrastructure by improving cross-border payments, supporting treasury operations, and enabling new digital financial products. On the other, their growth raises legitimate concerns around AML/CFT compliance, consumer protection, custody, liquidity risk, and financial stability, particularly in the absence of clear regulatory rules.
Much of the reserves backing Tether’s original USDT stablecoin are held in short-term US Treasuries and other cash equivalents, a structure that has increasingly drawn the attention of global regulators and financial institutions.
