New Opportunities Knocking in Virtual Assets as SEC, BoG Unveil Plans to Regulate & Formalize Sector

Ghana is preparing to open a new wave of digital opportunities that could transform how we save, invest, and do business in the emerging virtual assets sector.

For those seeking to build a career, profession, or advocacy in digital assets, the Deputy Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mensah Thompson, has revealed that regulators are finalising plans to license and regulate a wide range of services in the fast-growing digital asset sector.

With these new emerging opportunities, what does this mean for the ordinary Ghanaian? Imagine money that isn’t tied to a bank but exists purely in digital form, like Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.

These are called virtual assets. And just like we need banks and stock markets to handle our regular cedis, the virtual asset world also needs safe platforms, service providers, and rules to protect people who trade, invest, or use them for business. That’s exactly what the Bank of Ghana and SEC are getting ready to build.

“Very soon we’re going to look at things like virtual asset dealing services and it is an off exchange virtual asset conversion and peer-to-peer transactions and Is going to be regulated by the Bank of Ghana licence will be issued for people to be able to participate in that space There is a virtual asset exchanges and trading platforms The crypto exchanges and what have you, which is a centralised trading platform for clearing settlements, which were also licenced by the SEC,” he noted.

The Numerous Frontiers of Opportunities

Speaking at the Digital Assets Summit in Accra, Mensah Thompson indicated that the upcoming licensing framework will create room for businesses and individuals to participate in areas such as the following;

Virtual Asset Dealing Services: Think of this as a “Bureau de Change” for digital money, where people can swap one virtual asset for another or for cedis, but done safely and legally.

Crypto Exchanges: Similar to the stock exchange in Accra, but for cryptocurrencies. Here, buyers and sellers can meet on one centralised platform to trade their digital coins, with SEC ensuring fair play.

Digital Wallet Providers: Just like your MoMo wallet holds your cash, digital wallets store your virtual assets securely. Licensed providers will make sure your digital money doesn’t disappear overnight.

Payment Services: Businesses could start accepting payments in virtual assets, and processors will step in to make sure transactions are smooth and safe.

Tokenisation: Imagine owning a piece of a cocoa farm or a real estate property, not in the physical sense, but as a small digital token you can buy or sell. That’s tokenisation, which refers to turning real-world assets into digital shares.

Virtual Asset Investment Services: From fund managers to advisors, these players will help ordinary people invest in virtual assets much like they do with treasury bills or mutual funds.

Lending and Borrowing: In the future, you may be able to borrow money by using your digital assets as collateral, just like pawning jewellery, but in the digital world.

Mining and Validation: For the tech-savvy, opportunities will also emerge in creating and verifying virtual assets, a backbone activity that keeps blockchain systems alive.

Why This Matters

Experts in the sector reveal that the global digital asset market is currently worth trillions of dollars. Countries that embrace it early stand to attract both foreign investors and local entrepreneurs. In Ghana, this anticipated formalization and regulation will mean new businesses springing up to offer digital financial services.

It will also offer job opportunities for tech developers, financial advisors, and legal experts. It will also present more innovative ways for small businesses to raise money and expand.

For ordinary citizens, there will be more options to save, trade, and invest beyond traditional cedi-based accounts.

However, without clear-cut rules, people risk losing money to scams, unstable platforms, or unsafe investment schemes. With the Bank of Ghana and SEC stepping in, Mensah Thompson says the goal is to create a safe, trustworthy environment where both Ghanaians and international players can participate.

“All these are various Licensing regimes which are going to be implemented, and people who have the opportunity, market operators, will have the opportunities. Whenever I talked to industry players. I want to encourage them to get themselves ready for the operationalisation of digital so that, as we encourage international participation in the local market in the service provision, we also need to encourage domestic participation,” he indicated.

The Bottomline

The deputy SEC boss is urging local businesses, entrepreneurs, and even students to start preparing for the digital wave.

As mobile money revolutionized the financial landscape and financial inclusion in Ghana, virtual assets could do so on a much bigger scale by creating new industries, jobs, and wealth. The difference this time is that it won’t be just about sending and receiving money; it will be about owning, trading, and building with digital assets in ways we never thought possible.

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