Tether and Nairobi Securities Exchange Ink Tokenization Pact

The collaboration hinges on Hadron, a platform developed by Tether to manage the issuance and lifecycle of tokenized assets. By integrating this software, the exchange aims to evaluate potential improvements in settlement efficiency and provide investors with fractional access to securities. The scope includes onboarding processes tailored to meet Kenya’s anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer regulations, alongside potential research into whether Tether’s USDT stablecoin could function as a settlement layer.

Despite the scale of the partnership, the agreement remains preliminary. No specific securities, blockchain networks, or custody institutions have been selected for testing. Furthermore, the initiative must navigate a complex regulatory environment established by Kenya’s 2025 Virtual Asset Service Providers Act. This legislation separates oversight between the Capital Markets Authority, which governs tokenization, and the Central Bank of Kenya, which manages stablecoin issuance. Because the agreement only applies where legally permitted, any future implementation depends heavily on securing explicit clearance from these regulators. NSE chief executive Frank Mwiti noted that the project aligns with the exchange’s 2025–2029 strategy to modernize market infrastructure, though no binding commitments or budgets have been disclosed.