In a keynote address at the Standard Chartered Digital Assets Summit, the Bank of Ghana’s First Deputy Governor set out the central bank’s policy stance on digital assets, framing the priority as bringing a fast-growing market into a trusted regulatory framework rather than banning or ignoring it. He said digital assets already touch more than three million Ghanaians and involve activity measured in billions of USD, making them a present-day part of the financial system. The core message was that Africa’s digital asset economy should be built on trust, inclusion and sound institutions, with innovation expanding opportunity without undermining financial stability, consumer protection or the role of public money. The speech pointed to Ghana’s existing response through Act 1154, which established a legal framework for virtual asset service providers, alongside stronger cooperation between the Bank of Ghana, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Intelligence Centre. It also highlighted the creation of a dedicated Virtual Assets Department and the use of the Regulatory Sandbox to test and refine approaches before long-term frameworks are finalised. On central bank money, the deputy governor said work on the eCedi is intended to support inclusion, but stressed that any digital ecosystem must strengthen rather than compete with or displace the cedi. The address also identified the main opportunities the Bank of Ghana sees from digital assets and related infrastructure, especially lower-cost cross-border payments within Africa, tokenisation of real assets to deepen capital markets and broader financial inclusion. It ended with a call for engagement by innovators, banks and African regulators, with interoperability presented as a policy choice that will require cross-border collaboration.

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