Ghana Charges Ahead: Government to License Crypto Firms as Demand Skyrockets
West Africa's crypto gold rush gets official stamp.
Ghana's financial regulators—finally catching up to its tech-savvy population—are drafting licensing frameworks for digital asset firms. No more wild west: exchanges and wallet providers now face KYC rules tighter than a Swiss bank vault.
Why the sudden urgency? Peer pressure. Neighboring Nigeria’s crypto adoption hit 35% last year while Ghanaian P2P volumes doubled—despite central bank warnings that’d make a goldbug blush.
The licensing move reeks of bureaucratic FOMO. After years of ‘monetary sovereignty’ posturing, Accra now wants a cut of the 6% transaction fees local exchanges pocket daily. (Traditional banks seethe quietly.)
One Accra-based miner puts it bluntly: ‘They banned it, we kept trading. Now they want taxes.’ African crypto markets: where regulation always arrives late to the profit party.
Ghana, a West African nation, is preparing to license cryptocurrency platforms in response to the growing demand for digital assets.
New Framework by September
According to a report from Bloomberg, the Bank of Ghana plans to propose a new regulatory framework by September to oversee and license crypto platforms nationwide. With around 3 million adults, which is about 17% of the population, already using cryptocurrencies, this move marks a significant step toward officially recognizing and regulating digital assets in one of Africa’s leading economies.
Ghana wants to regulate crypto to better manage its currency and collect more revenue. The cedi (Ghana’s currency) has been very volatile as it gained over 40% this year after falling nearly 20% last year, making it hard for the central bank to keep inflation under control.
Crypto Use Booms In Ghana
Bank of Ghana Governor, Johnson Asiama, noted that crypto is adding to the challenge as many people are sending and receiving payments in crypto, but those transactions are not showing up in the country’s official records. This is making it harder to keep track of the real economic picture.
Between July 2023 and June 2024, people in Ghana used crypto to make $3 billion worth of transactions. This is a big part of the $125 billion total for all of sub-Saharan Africa. This shows how active Ghana is in the crypto space, compared to the rest of the region.
Ghana Mandates Registration by August 15
Recently, the Bank of Ghana also announced that all VIRTUAL Asset Service Providers (VASPs) operating within the country must register with the central bank by August 15, 2025. This rule applies to all crypto companies offering services to people in Ghana, whether they are local or international, and whether they operate in person or online. It covers services like crypto exchanges, digital wallets, safekeeping, and issuance or sale of crypto assets like stablecoins and ICOs.
This shows that the central bank is taking steps to bring crypto under control as its use grows rapidly in the country. While registration doesn’t count as a license to operate, firms that fail to comply may face penalties or be excluded from future licensing opportunities.
Global Momentum Builds
The U.S. is leading the way in crypto regulation with the GENIUS Act, signed into law on July 18, 2025. It sets clear rules for stablecoins to encourage innovation and provide legal clarity.
Across the globe, countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe are all working on crypto regulations, licensing virtual asset service providers (VASPs), and focusing on key areas like stablecoins, anti-money laundering (AML), and investor protection.
