Ghana is set to begin regulating cryptocurrency and other virtual assets by the end of 2025, according to the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Johnson Asiama.
Speaking during the ongoing IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington DC, Dr Asiama announced that a new bill to regulate virtual assets has already been drafted with support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and is now being prepared for submission to Parliament.
He explained that the move follows growing evidence of cryptocurrency use across the country, particularly within remittance channels and the informal foreign exchange market.
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Dr Asiama remarked:
Crypto is one area. We always knew that the phenomenon was there. But as some people say, crypto is like the air we breathe. It’s around us. It’s used around us. If you don’t engage in it, you don’t know it’s going on.
The Governor revealed that the central bank first noticed the extent of crypto activity when remittance inflows through the banking system sharply declined following the appreciation of the cedi earlier this year. He noted that many members of the Ghanaian diaspora, facing lower returns in local currency terms, began using alternative digital channels for transfers.
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Further investigations by the Bank of Ghana showed that some dealers operating in the parallel foreign exchange market were using stablecoins and other virtual assets to facilitate cross-border payments.
He said:
What we observed was that some of the parallel market dealers indicated to us that they were using stablecoins and similar instruments. Suddenly, there was active use of virtual assets to even terminate remittance inflows. That confirmed our sense that this was an important area.
Dr Asiama stated that the central bank could no longer ignore the rapid growth of digital currency use in Ghana’s financial ecosystem and had resolved to act decisively.
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He noted:
We’ve done a lot of work over the past four months to establish the appropriate regulatory framework, and I must thank the IMF again for its support. They’ve helped us to put together a new bill to regulate virtual assets.
The Governor confirmed that the proposed Virtual Assets Bill is currently being processed for parliamentary approval and is expected to take effect by the end of December 2025.
Dr Asiama added:
That bill is on its way to Parliament as I speak, and hopefully, before the end of December, we should be able to regulate cryptos in Ghana.
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He, however, cautioned that legislation alone will not be sufficient. The Bank of Ghana, he said, is also strengthening its institutional capacity to monitor crypto-related activities and enforce compliance once the new law comes into effect