BoG to engage industry actors in operationalising virtual asset law

Tahiru Alhassan of the Bank of Ghana disclosed that the central bank is making significant progress in operationalising Ghana's recently enacted Virtual Asset Service Providers Act (VASP), 2025 (Act 1154), with plans to engage industry stakeholders as it develops directives and guidelines for its implementation. He remarked that "This is a whole new sector that has never been regulated in Ghana and we need to develop very comprehensive guidelines covering anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML-CFT), prudential requirements, consumer protection and market conduct, cybersecurity and technology requirements".

Mr. Alhassan stated that the Bank of Ghana has already completed drafts of a number of guidelines and expects to begin publishing some of them later in the year. He said that stakeholder consultation will involve inviting industry players, the Association of Banks, fintechs, the Chamber of Digital Asset and Blockchain Innovation, and other targeted experts to help review the guidelines. Virtual assets broadly refer to digital financial instruments such as cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, tokenised assets, and blockchain-based financial solutions used for payments, investments, and cross-border transactions.