Ghana is moving into a more coordinated phase of virtual-asset regulation as the Bank of Ghana (BoG) takes the lead in bringing financial, securities, cybersecurity, and financial-intelligence authorities under a common supervisory framework.
The move follows the enactment of the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 (Act 1154), which created a statutory framework for the registration, licensing and supervision of businesses operating in the virtual-asset market.
Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, said the new Virtual Assets Coordinating Committee would provide the platform needed to translate the legislation into coordinated regulatory action.
“The inauguration of the Virtual Assets Coordinating Committee is therefore critical to the effective implementation of the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 (Act 1154), as it will provide the legal framework for coordinated regulatory and supervisory action among the relevant institutions.” Dr Asiama said at the inauguration of the committee.
The committee brings together the BoG, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ministry of Finance, Cyber Security Authority and Financial Intelligence Centre, reflecting the growing overlap between virtual assets, the financial system and financial crime risks.
The development comes as Ghana seeks to formalise a market that has expanded faster than the regulatory framework around it. The country’s 2024 money laundering and terrorism financing risk assessment found significant vulnerabilities across virtual-asset activities, including fiat-to-virtual and virtual-to-fiat transactions, as well as peer-to-peer transactions.
The assessment identified an 83% inherent risk exposure for fiat-to-virtual transactions and an 82% overall risk level after mitigation measures, highlighting the challenges regulators face in monitoring transactions that can move between the digital-asset ecosystem and the formal financial system.
The regulatory shift means virtual-asset operators will face formal requirements covering registration, compliance, reporting, cybersecurity and consumer protection. The BoG has already required virtual-asset service providers operating in Ghana to register, while the SEC has established a regulatory sandbox to test virtual-asset products before broader licensing.
The SEC said in August that 20 entities were participating in its sandbox, covering activities including virtual-asset exchanges, trading platforms, brokerage and the tokenisation of assets such as gold, securities, Treasury bills, bonds and trade finance.
That development also points to a broader opportunity beyond cryptocurrency trading, particularly as Ghana explores the use of blockchain-based systems for asset tokenisation and digital financial services.
Dr Asiama said the committee would also focus on financial stability, noting that the implications of virtual assets extend beyond individual consumers and service providers.
“The Committee shall pay close attention to financial stability issues arising from this sector,” he said.
The immediate task for regulators will be to complete the operational guidelines and establish a consistent licensing and supervisory framework ahead of the full operationalisation of Act 1154. The BoG says the framework is expected to be operational by 2027..
