The Bank of Ghana (BoG), which is the Central Bank of Ghana, plans to begin regulating cryptocurrency and associated platforms by the end of September 2025, according to Dr. Johnson Asiama, Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
Speaking at the African Leaders and Partners Forum, hosted by the EBII Group alongside the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C., Asiama said that the initiative depends on the approval of the Virtual Asset Providers Act.
The legislation will grant the Bank of Ghana the authority to license and oversee platforms and participants within the virtual asset sector.
“To enhance the regulation of these platforms and assets, the Bank of Ghana is establishing a dedicated unit focused on digital assets,” Dr Asiama revealed.
“This is a technology we cannot prevent, hence the need to move fast to regulate it.”
Ghana is, so far, lagging behind its continental peers when it comes to regulating the cryptocurrency environment. In January 2018, the Bank of Ghana released a public notice alerting citizens that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin were not legally recognized in Ghana.
Like most banks within the region, the Bank of Ghana had cautioned the public about dealing with crypto-related institutions and advised financial institutions against supporting cryptocurrency transactions.
But today, central banks across the continent have begun taking pro-active steps to establish regulatory frameworks, driven by the growing volume of cryptocurrency transactions in Africa.
REPORT | #Nigeria Ranked 2nd Globally in #DeFi and the Only African Country in Top 20 by Chainalysis 2024 Crypto Adoption Index
“When we look at year-over-year growth in terms of types of services, we see that DeFi activity increased significantly in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin… pic.twitter.com/foXhFCjaM1
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) September 13, 2024
Nigeria has a regulation regime in place introduced in June 2024 with Nigerian-owned crypto exchanges, Busha and Quidax, the first to receive licenses from the Nigerian SEC in 2024.
REGULATION | Nigerian Regulator, @SECNigeria, Once Again Warns Public Against Unauthorized Digital Asset Platforms
The SEC urged prospective investors confirm the registration status of financial institutions via its official database below:https://t.co/p4pX1x7c76 pic.twitter.com/ZNVqhDmGyJ
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) April 26, 2025
South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has so far approved 248 crypto asset service provider licences making it the most advanced location for crypto operators on the continent.
REGULATION | South Africa Has Now Approved 248 Crypto Providers Out of 420 Received So Far, Only 9 Applications Rejected
This post identifies two key areas that resulted from applications getting rejected by the FSCA.https://t.co/9osgvhErjt @fscasouthafrica pic.twitter.com/2fvVgBZoty
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) December 16, 2024
Meanwhile, Kenya’s Finance Ministry has also recently forwarded a virtual assets providers bill to the country’s parliament as it seeks to avoid penalties from global money-laundering watchdog FATF.
[TECH] REGULATION | The Kenya Virtual Assets Providers Bill 2025 Gets Gazetted Ready for Discussion in Parliament: Kenya’s proposed Virtual Assets Bill seeks to regulate the crypto space by requiring all fir.. https://t.co/Clpp8tlNx3 via @BitcoinKE
— Top Kenyan Blogs (@Blogs_Kenya) April 9, 2025
The Ghanaian apex bank, which had also taken the lead with the introduction of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), has since paused those efforts, despite successfully conducting a pilot project in 2024.
CBDC | ‘Economic Stabilization is Priority Before Implementing eCedi Initiative’, Says Bank of Ghana After Successful CBDC Pilot Completion
“We intend to focus on achieving institutional readiness … to ensure a successful launch.” – @thebankofghanahttps://t.co/SQiXLh4gXe pic.twitter.com/SG84XDz0MR
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) November 19, 2024
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