Ghana has selected 11 crypto trading platforms to participate in a regulatory sandbox where they will “test their products and services in a regulated environment under the regulatory supervision” of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Summary
- Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission has admitted 11 crypto platforms to the regulatory sandbox to test their services under the country’s new Virtual Asset Service Providers law.
- A 12-month trial will allow platforms with market-ready products to switch to full licenses after six months.
- Regulators say data collected during the program will guide future licensing guidelines as Ghana develops a formal regulatory framework for digital property services.
As of March 10, Africoin, Blu Penguin, Goldbod, Hanypay, Hyro Exchange, HSB Global, KoinKoin, Whitebits, Vaulta, XChain, and Bsystem will start operating under the country’s Securities Supply Act in the next 12 months.
After the first six months, the SEC will evaluate which of these platforms have products and services ready to sell and can switch to a full operating license. Meanwhile, those that fail to meet the requirements will continue to operate within the sandbox for the remaining six months.
According to the commission, the sandbox is designed to “support innovation while strengthening investor protection, market integrity, and compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing standards.”
The data collected during this assessment will help shape “future policy and licensing frameworks for virtual goods services,” it added.
The SEC plans to develop guidelines and subsequently publish them for prospective applicants to apply under the various categories of activity-based licenses specified in the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act.
Ghana’s plans to start licensing crypto platforms were first revealed in July of last year, when the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Johnson Asiama, said regulators had begun working on a framework aimed at bringing digital asset activity under legal supervision.
“We are actually late to the game,” Asiama said at the time, referring to the growing number of Ghanaians who are already using cryptocurrencies for transactions despite the absence of a clear regulatory structure.
Later, in December, regulators passed the Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) bill, which established provisions that will allow crypto trading and related digital asset services to operate legally in the country under the supervision of the Bank of Ghana and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
As one of the largest crypto markets in the region in terms of grassroots adoption, Ghana is expected to see more migration to regulated areas if the authorities continue to shape an orderly and suitable environment for the industry.
Earlier this month, cryptobrokerage firm Blockchain.com said it has expanded operations in Ghana as part of a broader plan to build digital asset infrastructure across the region’s fastest-growing markets.
