The committee brings together the BoG, SEC, Ministry of Finance, Cyber Security Authority and Financial Intelligence Centre to coordinate regulatory and supervisory action across a sector that increasingly overlaps with the formal financial system.
BoG Governor Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama said the move marks a transition from legislation to the establishment of an operational regulatory framework for virtual assets, following passage of the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025, Act 1154, in December last year.
The legislation followed Ghana’s 2024 national anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism risk assessment, which identified significant adoption and use of virtual assets and growing interconnections with the formal financial system.
Operational guidelines are being developed by the BoG and SEC, alongside policies and regulatory measures aimed at fully implementing the law.
Under Section 5 of the Act, the committee will coordinate implementation of the legislation and its subsidiary instruments, improve information sharing among regulators and support joint responses to emerging risks. Its mandate also covers risks relating to money laundering, terrorist financing, cybersecurity, consumer protection and financial stability.
BoG will hold the inaugural chairmanship for two years, after which the role will rotate to the SEC.
Dr. Asiama said the speed of change in virtual assets and decentralised finance requires regulators to work more closely and share information more quickly.
“The pace at which virtual assets and digital finance are evolving globally leaves us little room for a passive approach,” he said, adding that effective coordination will be needed to safeguard the financial system’s integrity while supporting innovation and inclusion.
The committee comprises Mr. Elhanan Owureku Asare and Mr. Philip Kwaw Sebuabe from the BoG; Mr. Emmanuel Mensah Thompson and Mr. Richard Kwame Dusi from the SEC; Patience Arko Boham from the Ministry of Finance; Mr. Stephen Cudjoe-Seshie from the Cyber Security Authority; and Mr. Benjamin Ofori from the Financial Intelligence Centre.
SEC Director-General Dr. James Kluse Avedzi said the committee is designed to address regulatory blindspots created by products that cut across traditional institutional boundaries.
He noted that tokenised assets, stablecoins and decentralised finance protocols can simultaneously raise securities, banking, payments and financial intelligence concerns, making fragmented oversight inadequate.
The committee is expected to coordinate areas where SEC’s oversight of exchanges and tokenised assets intersects with BoG’s supervision of wallets, payment systems and other financial infrastructure.
Dr. Avedzi said Ghana’s ambition to become a credible jurisdiction for virtual assets in West Africa and across the continent will depend on whether investors and market participants have confidence in the regulatory framework.
The committee’s immediate test will be translating the law into consistent supervisory practice as BoG and SEC develop licencing and operational frameworks. Its effectiveness will depend on whether member institutions can align their regulatory approaches and respond quickly to new products and risks.
“This committee is not designed to slow you down. It is designed to make the ground you build on solid enough to last,” Dr. Avedzi said.
SOURCE : B&F TIMES
