Bank of Ghana asks VASPs to register as regulations ramp up

Ghana’s central bank, the Bank of Ghana (BoG), has asked virtual assets service providers (VASPs) in the country to register with it before August 15. 

According to the bank, it merely wants to ‘identify and assess’ companies that engage in digital asset services, and the process is not an official license-issuance endeavor. 

The details 

• In a release shared on July 10, the BoG announced that the move is in furtherance of its commitment to promote innovation and protect the country’s citizens as they navigate the financial ecosystem. 
• Companies required to register are cryptocurrency exchanges, wallet providers, payments companies utilizing digital assets to settle transactions and projects looking to issue initial coin offerings and token sales. 
• The BoG asked these companies to fill out and submit a registration form on its website by mid-August or risk sanctions and potential disqualification from any eventual licensing initiative. 
• It added that the registration exercise will help it shore up imminent crypto regulations and align crypto rules with global standards. 

Key quote 

• The release signed by the BoG’s secretary, Sandra Thompson, reads: 

“Pursuant to its mandate of maintaining financial stability and consistent with its ongoing efforts to promote integrity, innovation and consumer protection in the digital financial ecosystem, the Bank of Ghana requires all Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) operating within the jurisdiction of the Republic of Ghana to register with the Bank... The deadline for registration is 15th August 2025.” 

Zoom out 

• Ghana is another entry on a growing list of African countries looking to properly regulate cryptocurrencies and virtual assets. 
• Cryptocurrencies have been banned in Ghana since 2022, with authorities reiterating that local banks are prohibited from dealing with digital assets in early 2023.  
• However, in December the same year, the country's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the establishment of a task force to help the agency build expertise to regulate crypto assets. 
• The regulatory process has since picked up steam. Last year, the BoG released draft guidelines for regulating digital assets.  
• In addition, the new governor of the BoG, Johnson Asiama, announced last April that regulations will go live by September. 
• According to him, the institution of these crypto rules is contingent on the passage of the VASP act by the country’s lawmakers before they become binding, suggesting that the framework is mostly in place already.