- BoG Says Ghana’s Digital Asset Economy Must Be Built on Trust, Not Speculation
The Bank of Ghana has signalled a firm but open regulatory posture toward digital assets, warning that Africa’s emerging digital finance ecosystem must be built on trust, inclusion and sound institutions rather than speculation.
Speaking at the Standard Chartered Digital Assets Summit in Accra, First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Zakari Mumuni, said digital assets are no longer a distant possibility but a present-day financial reality already touching millions of Ghanaians.
“Digital assets are no longer a future concept. They are becoming part of the financial infrastructure of the present,” Dr Mumuni said.
According to him, credible estimates suggest that Ghana’s digital assets ecosystem already touches more than three million people and represents activity measured in billions of dollars.
“That is not a niche, a fringe, or a future projection. It is a present-day economic reality,” he noted.
His remarks come at a time when Ghana is moving to bring virtual assets and digital finance activities within a clearer regulatory framework, following years of rapid adoption ahead of formal regulation.
The First Deputy Governor said the central question is no longer whether digital assets will shape African finance, because they already are. Rather, the key issue is whether regulators, banks, innovators and policymakers will shape that future deliberately.
“The real question is whether we will shape that future deliberately, and whether it will serve not only the largest institutions, but also the trader in Tamale, the entrepreneur in Kumasi, and the small business owner in Takoradi,” he said.
Dr Mumuni said Ghana chose not to ban what it did not fully understand and also chose not to ignore a development that was already reshaping how citizens store, transfer and exchange value. Instead, he said, the country opted for engagement.
“We chose engagement. We chose to bring innovation into a framework where citizens are protected, confidence is preserved, and opportunity can flourish,” he said.
The Bank of Ghana’s position reflects a broader shift in financial regulation. Digital assets, virtual asset service providers, tokenised instruments and digital settlement systems are becoming too significant to be treated as fringe activity.
At the same time, regulators are under pressure to prevent consumer abuse, illicit financial flows, instability and speculative excesses.
Dr Mumuni said regulation should not be seen as an attempt to stop innovation, but as a way of creating the conditions under which innovation can be trusted.
“Regulation is not about saying no. It is about creating the conditions under which society can confidently say yes,” he stated.
He said Ghana has already taken steps to build a legal and institutional framework for digital assets. Through Act 1154, the country has established a legal framework for virtual asset service providers, while cooperation has been strengthened among the Bank of Ghana, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Intelligence Centre.
The central bank has also established a dedicated Virtual Assets Department and continues to use its Regulatory Sandbox to learn, test and adapt before finalising long-term frameworks.
This approach suggests that Ghana wants to regulate digital assets without closing the door to innovation.
For the Bank of Ghana, however, one issue remains non-negotiable: the role of the cedi.
Dr Mumuni said innovation in digital assets, tokenisation or digital settlement must not displace 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 competing with it,” he said.
He added that the future may be digital, but public trust must remain at the centre of the financial system.
This message is important because many digital asset systems operate outside traditional sovereign monetary structures. For central banks, the challenge is to encourage innovation while ensuring that national currencies, monetary policy transmission and financial stability are not undermined.
Dr Mumuni linked Ghana’s work on the eCedi to this broader objective, saying the central bank’s digital currency work reflects a belief that innovation should expand inclusion rather than restrict it.
He identified three major opportunities that digital assets and digital settlement infrastructure could create for Africa. The first is trade and cross-border payments.
According to him, it is sometimes easier for a business in Accra to transact with Europe than with another African country. Digital settlement infrastructure, he said, can reduce cost, increase speed and support the ambitions of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The second opportunity is the tokenisation of real assets, which he said could deepen capital markets, improve efficiency and create new pathways for businesses to access finance.
The third is financial inclusion.
Dr Mumuni said mobile money has already demonstrated what happens when innovation is designed around people’s lives. He argued that the next generation of digital infrastructure can extend opportunities further, especially for people and businesses still underserved by traditional financial systems.
However, he warned that opportunity must go hand in hand with discipline.
“Financial stability matters, just like consumer protection, integrity, and literacy. Innovation succeeds when people trust it. And people trust it when they understand it,” he said.
The First Deputy Governor also called for collaboration among innovators, banks and regulators across Africa, noting that interoperability is not merely a technological outcome but a policy choice.
“To innovators: engage with us. To banks: partner with us. To regulators across Africa: collaborate with us. Because interoperability is not an accident of technology. It is a policy choice. And it is a continental choice,” he said.
For Ghana, the speech sets out a clear regulatory philosophy: openness without recklessness, innovation without monetary displacement, and ambition without loss of sovereignty.
Dr Mumuni described Ghana’s posture as “open, but anchored; innovative, but sovereign; ambitious, but accountable.”
That framing captures the difficult balance regulators must strike.
If Ghana moves too slowly, innovation may continue outside the formal system, leaving consumers exposed and regulators behind the curve. If it moves too harshly, it could suppress useful technologies that can support trade, inclusion and capital market development.
The Bank of Ghana’s preferred route appears to be controlled engagement.
The central bank wants digital assets brought into a framework where risks can be supervised, consumers protected and legitimate innovation allowed to grow.
For Africa, the stakes are even higher.
Digital assets and digital settlement systems could help reduce payment frictions, improve cross-border commerce and give small businesses access to new sources of capital. But if poorly regulated, they could also expose citizens to fraud, volatility and financial instability.
Dr Mumuni’s central message was therefore both simple and cautionary: Africa must not merely consume the future; it must help create it responsibly.
“The infrastructure of Africa’s digital economy is being shaped today. Let us build it wisely. Let us build it responsibly. Let us build it to last,” he said.
