BoG Deputy Governor Dr. Zakari Mumuni Announces Major Shift on Digital Assets

BoG Deputy Governor Dr. Zakari Mumuni Announces Major Shift on Digital Assets  

 

ACCRA, Ghana — In a monumental policy shift, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has officially moved away from its historical resistance toward digital currencies, choosing instead to bring Ghana’s rapidly expanding crypto market into a formal regulatory framework. Speaking at a financial summit, the First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Zakari Mumuni, announced that the central bank will no longer ignore an asset class that has fundamentally woven itself into the financial realities of ordinary citizens.  

According to the central bank's latest assessments, the virtual asset economy in Ghana is no longer a niche hobby, now directly touching more than three million Ghanaians and representing transactions measured in billions of dollars. "We chose not to ban what we did not fully understand," Dr. Mumuni stated, outlining the BoG's new cooperative posture. "And we chose not to ignore what was already reshaping the financial lives of our citizens. Instead, we chose engagement. Regulation is not about saying no. It is about creating the conditions under which society can confidently say yes."  

The regulatory push is fueled by the enforcement of the Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Act (Act 1154), which was officially signed into law. While the new framework formally legalizes the trading of major digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, the Bank of Ghana was explicit that crypto will not be recognized as legal tender. The Ghanaian Cedi remains the sole official currency of the state, and the BoG’s ongoing work on the digital eCedi is designed to protect and bolster public money, not replace it. Moving forward, all local crypto exchanges, wallet providers, and fintech platforms must undergo strict licensing via the BoG’s newly established Virtual Assets Regulatory Office (VARO) to ensure anti-money laundering compliance and consumer protection.