Deputy Director-General of Operations at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Mensah Thompson said Ghana has taken a major step in regulating the virtual asset industry as reflected in the passage and implementation of the Virtual Asset Act, 2025, 1154.
Speaking at the 3i Africa Summit in Accra, Mr Thompson said, the law, which formally established the regulation of virtual assets in Ghana, was approved by the President on December 24, 2025.
”It is considered one of the most important legal frameworks introduced in the country’s financial industry,” he added.
Mr. Thompson noted that after South Africa and Kenya, Ghana is the third country in Africa to establish a legal framework for virtual assets, but Ghana is now ahead implementation, having initiated a virtual assets sandbox programme to test and monitor digital asset operations in a controlled setting.
”The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has already accepted a number of businesses into the programme and released sandbox guidelines. Under regulatory oversight, the companies are presently exploring a variety of virtual asset offerings,” he said.
According to Thompson, the sandbox system will assist authorities in keeping an eye on market activity, identifying potential hazards, and setting operational restrictions and compliance guidelines for service providers.
He pointed out that the establishment of comprehensive standards for exchanges, trading platforms, virtual asset management and custody services will also be aided by the data collected from the sandbox.
Regulatory Structure
Mr Thompson explained that Ghana’s regulatory structure is activity-based, which means that rather than operating under a single cryptocurrency license, businesses must get licenses related to the services they offer.
”While the SEC is in charge of cryptocurrency exchanges, trading platforms and tokenised assets backed by commodities or other real-world assets, the Bank of Ghana is in charge of things like wallet services, payment systems and stablecoins backed by fiat money,” he stated.
Mr Thompson reiterated that the law creates a combined Virtual Assets Committee, co-chaired by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), to guarantee coordination between authorities. The committee’s duties include coordinating monitoring, preventing regulatory loopholes, and making sure that new developments in the virtual asset ecosystem are appropriately monitored.
“The strategy strikes a compromise between innovation and consumer safety, enabling fintech companies to create innovative products while guaranteeing appropriate risk management and market stability,” he added.
