Is crypto legal in Uganda? Regulation & rules (2026)

In April 2023 Justice Ssekaana Musa ruled in Kayondo v Bank of Uganda (Misc Cause No. 109 of 2022) that cryptocurrencies are illegal as a general payment instrument under the National Payment Systems Act 2020, upholding Bank of Uganda Circular NPSD 306 which bars licensed entities from converting crypto to mobile money.

The Anti-Money Laundering Act 2013 was amended in December 2020 to add VASPs — including crypto exchanges and custodians — as Accountable Persons, requiring registration with the Financial Intelligence Authority and full AML/CFT compliance.

In 2025 the Bank of Uganda Governor enumerated six foundational pillars for forthcoming crypto legislation: licensing and fit-and-proper standards, client asset protection, AML/CFT compliance, cybersecurity and operational resilience, market integrity and conduct, and transparency and data reporting.

A private member's bill sponsored by MP Nathan Igeme Nabeta proposes to regulate virtual assets through an amendment to the Capital Markets Authority Act; the bill was prepared for its first reading as of late 2025 and had not been enacted as of mid-2026.

Uganda launched a CBDC pilot — a digital Ugandan shilling deployed on GSN's permissioned blockchain backed by treasury bonds — alongside a tokenisation initiative covering agricultural assets and renewable-energy projects operated jointly with the Capital Markets Authority.

The Capital Markets Authority published a paper exploring regulatory options for crypto assets, noting that security-like tokens may fall under its existing statutory mandate and that ICO issuers could be required to register white papers with the CMA; no implementing rules have followed.