DeFi Technologies, the Toronto-based publicly traded company has striked a major move aimed at expansion. On Monday, it launched its new RWA tokenization-focused exchange, Kenya Digital Exchange (KDX).
The exchange, aimed at tapping into the growing digital market of Kenya, is launched with the collaboration of Kenya’s Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
Notably, the new exchange launch builds on the partnership signed last year between NSE, Defi Technologies’ subsidiary, Valour and SovFi.
The collaboration also involves the listing of Valour’s exchange-traded products (ETPs) on NSE by Q3 2025.
KDX: Why Defi Technologies is launching a new exchange
Curtis Schlaufman, the Vice-president of VP Marketing and Communications at DefiTech, revealed in a X post that the new Kenya Digital Exchange (KDX) aims at expanding his company’s role in global capital markets and digital asset innovation.
Given the ongoing growth in the RWA innovation and market, DeFi Tech’s KDX will work as a regulated platform for tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs) – equities, debt funds, and commodities.
KDX will enable primary issuance, trading, and liquidity provisioning for the tokenization of these instruments of traditional markets. It will leverage blockchain technology to ensure secure, transparent, and efficient transactions.
The platform will further integrate Hedera for settlement and to support smart‑contract–powered issuance and market‑making. This infrastructure is expected to serve both institutional and retail clients.
With Valous’ ETPs also in line, it aims to serve as a one‑stop marketplace for digital‑asset ETPs and other tokenized products.
To Provide Other Sevices too
As per the press release, implementation of KDX will occur in three phases:
1. initial platform design and compliance checks in late 2025,
2. pilot trading and ETP issuance in early 2026, and
3. full commercial launch by the second quarter of 2026.
The exchange’s revenue streams will include trading and listing fees, custody services, staking and liquidity‑provision charges, and other value‑added financial services. Curtis also informed that besides RWAs, Defi Tech’s KDX will also focus on token issuance, AI trading, market making, and global exchange interoperability.
Tapping into the Growing Crypto Market of Kenya
Kenya has long been a global leader in P2P bitcoin trading – Chainalysis ranked it first worldwide in P2P trade volume in 2021, ahead of 154 other countries. The country ranks among the top 25 markets worldwide for crypto adoption.
With cryptocurrency transactions totaling an estimated USD 18.6 billion in 2022 and over six million users—roughly 10% of the population.
Smartphone penetration exceeds 85%, and the local fintech sector attracted USD 638 million in venture capital in 2024. This underscores strong consumer demand and robust digital‑finance innovation.
By tapping into a six‑million‑user market and nearly USD 20 billion in annual crypto transactions, KDX could catalyze a new wave of digital‑finance activity in East Africa.
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