Ghana's central bank is no longer just writing policy on digital assets β it is enforcing it. Speaking at the Standard Chartered Digital Assets Summit in Accra, the First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Zakari Mumuni, confirmed that the country's regulatory architecture has shifted decisively from framework to implementation.
Dr. Mumuni was unambiguous about the sector's current status. It is, he said, no longer speculative β it is operational and consequential. Millions of Ghanaians had long been participating in a digital asset market that functioned largely outside formal oversight, and regulators had an obligation to close that gap without suppressing the innovation driving it.
A New Law and a Dedicated Department
Ghana's regulatory response has advanced on several fronts at once. The Virtual Asset Providers Act, 2025 (Act 1154) now provides a legal framework for service providers operating in the digital asset space. The BoG has also established a dedicated Virtual Assets Department and a regulatory sandbox where new products are tested before any wider rollout.
Oversight is being managed through a formalised working collaboration among three institutions: the Bank of Ghana, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Financial Intelligence Centre. The multi-agency approach signals that Ghana is treating digital assets as a systemic priority, not a niche concern.
eCedi, Tokenisation, and Real-Time Surveillance
The deployments already underway go well beyond policy documents. The BoG is actively piloting the eCedi β its proposed central bank digital currency β alongside tokenisation projects including Universal Trusted Credentials and digital economy token instruments.
Two new technical platforms are also operational. The Supervisory Intelligence platform and the Online Regulatory, Analytics and Surveillance System collect granular data from financial institutions and support real-time, evidence-based policy decisions. New regulatory frameworks for open banking, digital banking, and digital credit are all expected to be delivered before the end of 2025.
At the summit, Dr. Mumuni highlighted the tokenisation of real-world assets β representing physical or financial assets in digital form on blockchain-based platforms β as among the highest-value near-term opportunities for Ghana. Such instruments could open financing channels for businesses that remain outside the reach of traditional banking and deepen Ghana's capital markets considerably.
A Continental Trade Corridor with Rwanda and Zambia
Cross-border payments formed another critical dimension of Dr. Mumuni's address. Ghana is already piloting a continental digital trade corridor in partnership with Rwanda and Zambia, testing mobile money interoperability and cross-border digital identity systems. The goal is to eliminate delays and the high costs associated with routing intra-African transactions through external financial systems.
The initiative is explicitly designed to advance the ambitions of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). If successful, the corridor could serve as a model for broader regional digital payment integration across the continent. For more on Africa's fintech infrastructure developments, visit TechTrendi's news section.
One Clear Red Line: The Cedi Must Not Be Displaced
Dr. Mumuni drew a firm boundary around one principle β no digital innovation may threaten the primacy of Ghana's national currency.
"Whatever we build, tokenize, or otherwise, we must not displace the cedi. A strong digital ecosystem should strengthen public money, not compete with it."
β Dr. Zakari Mumuni, First Deputy Governor, Bank of Ghana
He also called for greater coordination among African regulators and financial institutions as the continent collectively navigates the digital asset transition. The call for regional regulatory alignment reflects growing recognition that fragmented approaches across African jurisdictions could undermine the very interoperability Ghana is working to build.
Ghana's moves place it at the centre of a continent-wide conversation about how emerging economies can regulate digital assets firmly without stifling the financial inclusion gains that make them valuable in the first place. Readers tracking African digital financial security and compliance will find these regulatory developments increasingly relevant as similar frameworks take shape elsewhere on the continent.