Ghana sets up five-agency committee to roll out crypto law, with licenses still a year off
Samuel Ojo
Between the lines
The BoG has already made its concerns about stablecoins clear. Now that it chairs the body implementing Ghana’s crypto rules, the question is whether that caution will translate into a risk-based approach to licensing and supervision.
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) on Aug. 25 inaugurated the Virtual Assets Coordinating Committee (VACC) to oversee the rollout of the country’s Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025.
The details: The committee brings together the BoG, Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Ministry of Finance, the Cyber Security Authority and the Financial Intelligence Centre.
- The BoG will chair the committee for the first two years. Under the Act, the BoG and the SEC are the lead regulators.
- Its role is to align the agencies’ work so that their rules do not operate in silos or contradict one another, according to the BoG.
Ghana's crypto regulatory timeline
From the VASP bill to sandbox admissions, here are the key dates in Ghana's fast-moving regulatory push
Chart: Oluwaseun Adeyanju, Mariblock
Ghana's crypto regulatory timeline
From the VASP bill to sandbox admissions, here are the key dates in Ghana's fast-moving regulatory push
Chart: Oluwaseun Adeyanju, Mariblock
Why it matters: The VACC is the first body set up to implement the Act. Governor Johnson Asiama said the BoG and the SEC are still drafting operational guidelines, and the government expects the law to take full effect in 2027.
- Adoption of digital assets in Ghana has reached a point where the asset class can no longer be ignored, Asiama said.
- That, and the constant overlap between digital assets and the traditional financial system flagged in a 2024 AML/CFT risk assessment, were the reasons Ghana moved to regulate crypto, he said.
Zoom out: The BoG has been particularly wary of stablecoins. In its Financial Stability Review published in May 2025, it identified them as a potential threat to the cedi.
- They let citizens hold value outside official channels, which threatens stability and weakens exchange controls, according to the central bank.
- A month after the review, the BoG issued a circular barring crypto companies from offering unauthorized stablecoin wallets to Ghanaian users.
Catch up quick: Parliament passed the Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill last December, giving crypto assets a legal framework.
- In the months since, the BoG has launched a sandbox to test the rules in practice. Twenty companies have been admitted, including state-backed GoldBod and the Ghana Commodities Exchange.
The big picture: African countries are still working out how best to regulate an industry that cuts across financial markets, payments, tax and security.
- Ghana and Nigeria are betting on coordination. Existing regulators keep their mandates while new councils bring them together. In July, President Bola Tinubu ordered the establishment of Nigeria’s Virtual Asset Council.
- Kenya split the job. The central bank licenses wallets, payment processors and stablecoin issuers. The CMA handles exchanges, brokers, tokenization and token offerings.
- South Africa went with a lead regulator. The FSCA licenses crypto service providers while the Reserve Bank and Treasury handle exchange controls.