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Crypto Journalist
Anas Hassan
Crypto Journalist
Anas Hassan
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Ghana’s central bank has promised to regulate cryptocurrencies by December 2025, although it has not hired the necessary staff to enforce the rules.
Bank of Ghana Governor Johnson Asiama announced the ambitious chronologically at the fall meetings of the International Monetary Fund in Washington on Thursday, the promising parliament will receive a virtual asset bill before the end of the year.
The announcement addresses a regulatory vacuum in a country where about 3 million adults, approximately 17% of the populationactively use digital currencies for payments, savings and remittances.
Crypto transactions in Ghana totaled $3 billion between July 2023 and June 2024, representing strong economic activity occurring beyond traditional banking oversight.
The regulatory infrastructure is still being built
Asiama acknowledged that Ghana has assembled a new department from scratch to handle crypto oversight, with recruitment and expertise development still ongoing.
“It is an important area, and we must step up to regulate and monitor these transactions,” Asiama said during a discussion with Abebe Aemro Selassie, director of the African department of the IMF.
“We have put together the regulatory framework and have a new bill to regulate virtual assets,” he added, noting that the bill is currently moving toward parliamentary review.
The regulatory push comes as Ghana’s cedi has experienced extreme volatility, rising as much as 48% in the past year. after falling 25% in the previous 12 months.
The authorities recognize that they are “Actually late in the game” as many economic agents make payments in cryptocurrencies outside of any regulatory framework, according to previous statements by Asiama.
The proposed legislation will allow Ghana to license crypto platformscollect financial data currently missing from national accounts, and strengthen the management of monetary policy in the import-dependent nation.
With political interest rates at 28% versus inflation at 13.7%, the authorities are looking for better oversight of currency flows affecting the domestic financial system.
Africa Runs Towards Crypto Legitimacy
Ghana’s move follows Kenya’s parliament has approved the bill for virtual asset service providers on October 14, which now awaits President William Ruto’s signature to become law.
Kenyan legislation divides supervision between the Central Bank of Kenya for stablecoins and the Capital Markets Authority for exchanges.
While speaking with Cryptonews, Lionel Iruk, Senior Advisor at Nav Markets and Managing Partner at Empire Legal, notes that governments around the world are pushing for clearer policies to ensure regional advantages.
“Regulators are increasingly recognizing that innovation and investor protection are not mutually exclusive,” Iruk said, adding that regulatory certainty would encourage more responsible project execution and transparent token design.
Nigeria processed $59 billion in crypto volume during the same period, they represent almost half of sub-Saharan Africa’s total $125 billion in transactions.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s Financial Conduct Authority has also approved 59 crypto platform licenses by March 2024, with more than 260 additional applications under consideration.
The African crypto market is projected to generate more than $2.9 billion in revenue by 2025, driven by the continent’s young, tech-savvy population and limited traditional banking access.
International exchanges, including UK-based Blockchain.com, have announced plans to open offices across the region as regulatory frameworks evolve.
Implementation challenges remain
Ghana’s aggressive timeline raises questions about enforcement capacity, as the department responsible for oversight has yet to be provided.
The country released first blockchain-based commemorative stamps in May 2024 and is testing its own digital currency, the e-cedi, as part of broader financial modernization efforts.
However, the gap between regulatory ambition and administrative preparedness could determine whether Ghana’s framework succeeds or not.
The specifics of the bill, including licensing requirements, capital thresholds, and penalties for non-compliance, are yet to be specified as it moves through Ghana’s legislative process.
