BoG to roll out crypto guidelines soon, clear path for licensing – Asiama

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) is set to roll out comprehensive guidelines for virtual assets, including cryptocurrency, to support the licensing and regulation of businesses operating in the sector .

Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, said the guidelines will provide the framework needed for the central bank to begin issuing licences to eligible virtual asset service providers .

Regulator acknowledges growing influence

Dr Asiama said although the sector carries significant risks, Ghana cannot afford to ignore its growing influence.

“Even though it is a very risky area, we just cannot sit and ignore it; that is why we have put in place the necessary regulations, so we can protect Ghanaians,” he said.

The Governor noted that previous attempts to overlook cryptocurrency had not stopped its use and adoption.

“We have in the past pretended that cryptocurrency does not exist, but the truth is that it goes on whether you like it or not,” he stated.

He said this makes it necessary for appropriate laws and regulations to guide activities within the sector and protect users .

Virtual Assets Coordinating Committee inaugurated

The move follows the Bank of Ghana’s inauguration of the Virtual Assets Coordinating Committee (VACC) last month . The committee was established under the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 (Act 1154), which was enacted following Ghana’s 2024 national Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorist Financing and Proliferation Financing (AML-CFT-PF) risk assessment . The assessment revealed significant adoption and use of virtual assets in Ghana, with growing interconnectedness with the formal financial system .

The committee provides a statutory platform for coordinated regulatory and supervisory action among relevant institutions under the Act . It comprises representatives from institutions involved in financial regulation, security and economic policy, including the Bank of Ghana, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ministry of Finance, Cyber Security Authority and Financial Intelligence Centre .

The Bank of Ghana is represented by Elhanan Owureku Asare and Philip Kwaw Sebuabe, while the SEC is represented by Emmanuel Mensah Thompson and Richard Kwame Dusi . Under Section 5 of the Act, leadership of the committee will rotate between the BoG and the SEC, with the central bank assuming the inaugural chairmanship for a two-year term .

Dual regulatory approach

The framework is based on a dual oversight model involving the BoG and the SEC. While the central bank focuses on payment systems, monetary stability and financial infrastructure, the SEC supervises investment-related virtual asset activities .

A regulatory sandbox has already been launched, admitting selected entities to test virtual asset products and services under regulatory supervision . The SEC admitted 11 cryptocurrency firms into the sandbox earlier this year, including Africoin, Blu Penguin, Goldbod, Hanypay, Hyro Exchange GH Ltd, HSB Global, Koinkoin, Whitebits, Vaulta, Xchain, and Bsystem Ltd . The Bank of Ghana also admitted six firms into its own parallel sandbox covering payment infrastructure, custody, exchange, and issuance .

Gradual rollout and enforcement

The Bank of Ghana and SEC are currently developing operational guidelines alongside the implementation of policy sandboxes, with the target of fully operationalising the Act by 2027 . The central bank has already begun publishing some of the draft guidelines and expects to engage industry stakeholders, including the Association of Banks, fintechs, and the Chamber of Digital Asset and Blockchain Innovation, to ensure the framework is practical and tailored to Ghana’s market .

Ghana’s approach includes a mandatory licensing regime for high-risk activities, registration for lower-risk operations, and compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligations, especially the “Travel Rule” .

Enforcement actions amid transition

In June, the Bank of Ghana issued a supervisory directive ordering all banks, payment service providers and regulated financial institutions to immediately cease supporting fiat currency wallet services denominated in foreign currencies offered by crypto platforms to users in Ghana . The central bank noted that these arrangements, typically supported through bank transfers and payment cards, involve activities that require authorisation under the Payment Systems and Services Act, 2019 (Act 987) and the Foreign Exchange Act, 2006 (Act 723) .

The directive came as no crypto platform had yet been authorised to provide such services . The Bank of Ghana warned that failure to comply could result in supervisory or enforcement actions . The move signals the central bank’s preference for a controlled, licensed ecosystem with proper AML/KYC safeguards .