REGULATION | This is a Technology We Cannot Prevent, Says Bank of Ghana Governor as He Promises Crypto Regulations by 2025 - BitKE

The Bank of Ghana (BoG), which is the Central Bank of Ghana, plans to begin regulating cryptocurrency and associated platforms by the end of September 2025, according to Dr. Johnson Asiama, Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
Speaking at the African Leaders and Partners Forum, hosted by the EBII Group alongside the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C., Asiama said that the initiative depends on the approval of the Virtual Asset Providers Act.
The legislation will grant the Bank of Ghana the authority to license and oversee platforms and participants within the virtual asset sector.
“To enhance the regulation of these platforms and assets, the Bank of Ghana is establishing a dedicated unit focused on digital assets,” Dr Asiama revealed.
“This is a technology we cannot prevent, hence the need to move fast to regulate it.”
Ghana is, so far, lagging behind its continental peers when it comes to regulating the cryptocurrency environment. In January 2018, the Bank of Ghana released a public notice alerting citizens that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin were not legally recognized in Ghana.
Like most banks within the region, the Bank of Ghana had cautioned the public about dealing with crypto-related institutions and advised financial institutions against supporting cryptocurrency transactions.
But today, central banks across the continent have begun taking pro-active steps to establish regulatory frameworks, driven by the growing volume of cryptocurrency transactions in Africa.
Nigeria has a regulation regime in place introduced in June 2024 with Nigerian-owned crypto exchanges, Busha and Quidax, the first to receive licenses from the Nigerian SEC in 2024.
South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has so far approved 248 crypto asset service provider licences making it the most advanced location for crypto operators on the continent.
Meanwhile, Kenya’s Finance Ministry has also recently forwarded a virtual assets providers bill to the country’s parliament as it seeks to avoid penalties from global money-laundering watchdog FATF.
The Ghanaian apex bank, which had also taken the lead with the introduction of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), has since paused those efforts, despite successfully conducting a pilot project in 2024.