The Central Bank of Ghana has announced its intention to legalize the activities of cryptocurrency companies by introducing mandatory licensing and developing a draft law to regulate the digital assets market. The authorities plan to prepare the relevant regulatory framework by September 2025.
This is reported by Business • Media
Reasons for Introducing Regulation
The Governor of the Central Bank of Ghana, Johnson Asiamah, explained that the decision was made against the backdrop of the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies among the country’s citizens. An increasing number of economic entities are making payments using digital assets; however, these operations remain outside the attention of regulators due to the lack of legislative oversight.
“We are indeed late to this game,” Asiamah acknowledged.
According to him, this situation affects the national currency and complicates macroeconomic planning. The authorities hope that the new law will not only enhance the transparency of operations but also provide additional revenue to the budget and attract investments.
Expected Benefits of the New Legislation
According to government plans, regulating the crypto market will contribute to:
- increased tax revenues from cryptocurrency transactions;
- attracting strategic investors to the digital finance sector;
- developing inter-state trade within Africa;
- more effective monetary policy implementation amid the volatility of the national currency — the Ghanaian cedi.
According to analysts, the cedi has experienced a 48% increase over the past year, following a 25% decline the previous year, complicating the fight against inflation. As of June, inflation reached 13.7%, while the key interest rate remained at 28%.
CEO of Web3 Africa Group, Del Titus Bawua, reported that about 3 million citizens of Ghana, or 17% of the adult population, are already using cryptocurrencies. He also added that the volume of crypto trading in the country from July 2023 to June 2024 amounted to $3 billion, while in Nigeria it was $59 billion, together accounting for nearly half of all cryptocurrency transactions in sub-Saharan African countries — $125 billion.
“African governments benefit from integrating cryptocurrencies into the financial system for better oversight.”
According to the analytical company Messari, countries in this region have the highest cost of money transfers in the world, so the introduction of digital currencies could provide significant advantages for both citizens and businesses. Craig Stoyr, the chief legal officer of the Yellow Card platform, emphasized that the active use of cryptocurrencies helps address the issue of dollar liquidity shortages, which hinders the development of intra-African trade.
It is worth noting that recently, the financial sector oversight authority mandated cryptocurrency companies to obtain licenses in South Africa, indicating a pan-African trend towards strengthening the regulation of the digital assets market.