Bank of Ghana says crypto regulations will go live by September

The governor of the Bank of Ghana Johnson Asiama has said that the country plans to roll out cryptocurrency regulations before the end of the year. 

In addition, the BoG will establish a specialized crypto unit to enforce the proposed regulations once passed. 

The details 

• According to reports in Ghanaian media, Asiama, who spoke at a side event during the International Monetary Fund/World Bank spring meeting in the United States, said crypto rules should be live by September. 
• He added that the proposed regulations are contingent on the passage of a virtual assets service providers (VASP) act by the Ghanaian legislature. 
• If passed, the act will confer the power to license and regulate VASPs on the Bank of Ghana, which plans to create a special task force to focus solely on enforcing the provisions of the act. 

Key quote 

•  Asiama said: 

“To enhance the regulation of these platforms and assets, the Bank of Ghana is establishing a dedicated unit focused on digital assets. This is a technology we cannot prevent, hence the need to move fast to regulate it.” 

Some context 

• Cryptocurrencies are not accepted as legal tender in Ghana and the absence of regulations means that the asset class has no legal standing in the country. 
• Last year, the BoG issued draft guidelines on cryptocurrencies, which typically precede full regulation. 
• It reiterated its initial stance prohibiting local banks from facilitating crypto transactions, a move set to change under the proposed regulations. 
• In addition to putting proper anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) measures in place, VASPs that hope to get licensed will also need to implement the FATF’s Travel Rule. 
• In December 2024, the Ghanaian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it was setting up a committee to help it develop the capacity to regulate digital assets. 
• Presently, it is unclear which of the BoG and the SEC will be granted sole or shared oversight on digital assets and VASPs in Ghana. 

Zoom out  

• More African countries are now gearing up to regulate crypto, perhaps due to the FATF’s recommendations that countries stay on top of digital assets due to money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/FT) risks. 
• 57% of the countries that failed in this and landed on the global financial watchdog’s greylist are African, mostly due to lax AML/CFT rules. The FATF added that 97% of African countries needed to step up crypto regulations. 
• South Africa has, since it made the greylist in 2023, licensed more than 240 crypto firms.  
• Countries such as Namibia and Nigeria have issued provisional licenses to two firms apiece under recently established regulations. 
• Other countries such as Rwanda, Morocco and Kenya have issued draft guidelines towards the creation of full crypto regulations.