Ghana Hits $10B in Crypto Transactions—New Law Brings Digital Assets Under Regulation!
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says that Ghana has seen more than $10 billion in cryptocurrency transactions as of November. This shows how quickly virtual assets are growing in the country.
Mensah Thompson, Deputy Director-General of the SEC, talked about how the government regulates digital assets on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Tuesday, January 30. He said that the number includes both incoming and outgoing transactions, which shows how much Ghana is involved with cryptocurrencies.
“Last year, there were about $6 billion in crypto transactions. As of November of this year, we have gone over $10 billion. He said, “This is very important and can’t be ignored.”
The Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Bill has been signed into law by President John Dramani Mahama. This means that Ghana’s digital assets sector, which includes cryptocurrencies, is now regulated.
Mr. Thompson said that the rise in activity made the government think about the best way to regulate it, weighing a full ban against a legal framework that would ensure proper oversight and protect financial stability.
“The country has too many crypto assets. Instead of making them illegal, the government, the Bank of Ghana, the SEC, and other interested parties chose to regulate the space. “This lets you see things in real time and makes sure that digital assets are used correctly,” he said.
He said that the Virtual Asset Bill took more than a year to write and that it was based on a lot of input from people who had a stake in it, such as the Bank of Ghana, the Financial Intelligence Centre, the Cyber Security Authority, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ghana Revenue Authority.
“This is one of the most open bills the government has ever passed.” He went on to say, “Stakeholders helped us find and close gaps in the virtual asset space.”
The law’s goals are to make it legal to use cryptocurrencies, set up rules for how they can be used, protect Ghana’s financial system, and encourage new ideas in the quickly growing digital finance sector.
He said, “We want to make sure that crypto activities in Ghana are done in a safe, open, and stable way that doesn’t hurt the economy.”
