Ghana will soon begin regulating crypto exchanges
The West African country aims to shift crypto activity away from untraceable peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions.
Cryptocurrency is slowly moving from the fringes to the financial mainstream in Africa. In recent years, countries like Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and even the Central African Republic have taken steps to either regulate or embrace digital assets. Now, Ghana is joining that list, setting the stage to become one of the continent’s next big hubs for licensed crypto activity.
The Bank of Ghana plans to introduce a licensing framework for crypto exchanges and wallet providers, by September 2025. It's a big move, especially for a country where about 17% of the population, roughly three million people, already hold or trade digital assets. Until now, most of this activity has taken place in a legal grey zone: not exactly banned, but not regulated.
Ghana’s central bank had even issued multiple warnings in 2018 and 2022, advising traditional financial institutions to stay away from crypto. Still, users didn’t stop. In fact, between July 2023 and June 2024, over $3 billion in crypto moved through Ghana alone.
David Adubiina
That’s part of what’s pushing the Bank of Ghana to act. Alongside lawmakers, it’s now drafting formal legislation and has released a set of guidelines for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs). These include rules around licensing, anti-money laundering protocols, minimum capital requirements, and consumer protection. Essentially, if the law passes, only registered players will be allowed to operate, and they’ll have to play by the book.
The hope is that this regulation will shift crypto activity away from untraceable peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions and toward platforms the government can monitor. It could also push major global exchanges, like Binance, which dominates Africa’s P2P market, to either localise or scale back operations. Ghana is following a path already taken by Nigeria, which began issuing licences in 2024, and South Africa, which has already approved over 75 crypto companies.
But for Ghana, it's clear that this is all about integration. The country wants to harness crypto to attract investment, boost cross-border trade, and improve financial oversight. If done right, this transition could bring digital assets into the formal economy and lay the foundation for a more stable, transparent financial ecosystem in West Africa.
Emmanuel Oyedeji
