Ghana to regulate Cryptocurrency by December – BoG Governor

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has confirmed that the country will begin formal regulation of cryptocurrency and virtual assets before the end of 2025, following the drafting of a new legal framework with support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Governor Dr. Johnson Asiama, speaking at the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, revealed that the Virtual Assets Bill is currently being finalized for submission to Parliament, where it is expected to be passed into law by December.

“Crypto is like the air we breathe—it’s around us and being used even when we are not actively engaging with it,” Dr. Asiama said. “We could no longer ignore its growing influence in our financial ecosystem.”

Dr. Asiama noted that the central bank began paying closer attention when remittance inflows through traditional banking channels sharply declined earlier this year, following the appreciation of the cedi.

He explained that recipients in Ghana were receiving lower returns in cedi terms, prompting many in the diaspora to turn to crypto-based and informal digital transfer systems.

Investigations revealed that operators in the parallel foreign exchange market were using stablecoins and other digital tokens to facilitate cross-border transfers, bypassing regulated financial institutions.

BoG Moves to Establish Oversight and Enforcement

The Governor said the central bank has spent the past four months developing a regulatory regime to monitor the crypto space, with technical input from the IMF.

“We have built the regulatory environment and are now putting in place the institutional capacity to enforce it,” he said.

Dr. Asiama added that the BoG is in the process of:
Establishing a dedicated department to oversee virtual assets
Training staff to monitor crypto flows
Enhancing cross-border digital transaction tracking
Building systems to enforce compliance post-legislation

Dr. Asiama stressed that digital assets have become a significant component of Ghana’s financial landscape, especially in remittances, retail trading, and informal exchange markets.

Once passed, the Virtual Assets Bill will mark Ghana’s first dedicated legal framework for monitoring, licensing, and supervising cryptocurrency transactions and service providers.