Rwanda’s Cabinet approved a draft law to regulate virtual assets on March 5, 2026. The draft law defines virtual assets as digital representations of value that can be traded or transferred digitally and used for payment or investment purposes, excluding digital representations of fiat currency. Virtual assets under the draft law include cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, stablecoins, tokenised assets, and digital investment tokens that can be traded or transferred using blockchain technology. The draft law introduces licensing requirements for virtual asset activities, consumer protection measures, and penalties for illegal crypto-related activities and fraudulent investment schemes. Rwanda’s virtual asset ecosystem previously operated largely informally, with users depending on peer-to-peer transactions and foreign trading platforms due to the absence of a dedicated legal framework. Rwanda’s stance on virtual assets was previously characterised by regulatory caution, and crypto-assets were widely treated as high-risk instruments in Rwanda prior to the new law. The new law does not reverse Rwanda’s previous position on virtual assets. The draft law was approved by the Lower Chamber of Parliament. The proposed legislation will proceed through the remaining stages of the legislative process before it can become law. The National Bank of Rwanda is the main financial regulatory body in Rwanda. Rwanda enacted Law No. 023/2026 of 25/05/2026 regulating virtual asset business, according to allafrica. The draft law defines virtual assets as digital representations of value that can be traded or transferred digitally, and used for payment or investment purposes, according to cabnmedia.com. The draft law excludes digital representations of fiat currency from the definition of virtual assets, according to cabnmedia.com. Rwanda’s virtual asset ecosystem previously operated largely informally, with users depending on peer-to-peer transactions and foreign trading platforms due to the absence of a dedicated legal framework, according to africantradechamber.org. The draft law introduces licensing requirements for virtual asset activities, according to africantradechamber.org. The draft law includes consumer protection measures for virtual asset activities, according to africantradechamber.org. The draft law introduces penalties for illegal crypto-related activities and fraudulent investment schemes, according to africantradechamber.org. The National Bank of Rwanda is the main financial regulatory body in Rwanda, according to ktpress.rw. The draft law was approved by the Lower Chamber of Parliament, according to africantradechamber.org. The proposed legislation will proceed through the remaining stages of the legislative process before it can become law, according to ktpress.rw. Rwanda’s stance on virtual assets was previously characterised by regulatory caution, according to allafrica.com. Crypto-assets were widely treated as high-risk instruments in Rwanda prior to the new law, according to allafrica.com. The new law does not reverse Rwanda’s previous position on virtual assets, according to allafrica.com.