Ghana’s Central Bank aims to have crypto regulations in place by the end of the year, with the West African country advancing a bill in Parliament just a week after Kenya passed its own bill regulating the industry.
Johnson Asiama, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BOG), said At the International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington on Thursday that the country “has done a lot of work in the last four months to consolidate environmental regulation,” and create legislation.
“That bill is going to Parliament, hopefully before the end of December, we should regulate cryptocurrencies in Ghana,” he said.
Earlier this month, Kenya’s Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP). passed the country’s parliament on October 7.
Crypto laws are just the first step
Bog previously set a September deadline for crypto regulations. Also issued by the bank Draft Guidelines in August 2024while seeking additional public comment.
Asiama said that laws are the first part of the process, because “the ability to monitor,” the flow of crypto “will be key.”
“So we’re building expertise, we’re building manpower. We’re putting together a new department that will help us. It’s an important area. We’re not going to ignore it, and we’re trying hard to regulate that.”
The bog at first approved A cautious stance towards cryptocurrencies, warning the public that they are not legal tender and advising people to use currency backed by the Central Bank.
Ghana’s crypto demand is growing
Even without regulations in place, online data and statistics platforms are in demand Estimates More than 3 million people in Ghana, representing about 8.9% of the country’s 34 million population, use crypto in some form.
Asiama said the growing use means “they cannot be left behind,” and must step up to regulate the industry, and “as policy makers, what we must do is try to have control to prevent abuse of the system.”
As part of BOG’s ongoing efforts, it also operates a digital sandbox environment, allowing a select number of companies to experiment with cryptocurrency.
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Fix crypto or risk falling behind
Isaac Simpson, the Senior Head of Financial Advisory and Equity Capital Markets at Stanbic Bank Ghana, said It was in July that the “digital train left the station,” and Ghana had to move forward with regulations or risk of being left behind.
“Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Rwanda are already miles away – eschewing CBDCs, launching regulated crypto exchanges, issuing digital asset licenses, and attracting global crypto capital. Ghana has a choice: lead or disrupt,” he said.
“Non-wasting is a policy. And currently, our caution is costing us, loss of tax revenue, exposure to illicit capital flows, stifled innovation and an unregulated youth led digital economy outside state control.”
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