The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has issued a warning against the growing unlawful advertising of virtual assets and stablecoin products, focusing on the use of billboards in Accra and other parts of the country by certain virtual asset service providers (VASPs).
According to the financial institution, all VASPs, including those operating within the BoG and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sandboxes, are prohibited from conducting mass marketing or public promotional activities for virtual assets unless expressly permitted by the BoG and SEC.
Furthermore, the bank added that virtual asset advocacy is a regulated activity under the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act of 2025 (Act 1154), requiring registration with the BoG and SEC. The Act also includes transitional provisions for current VASPs to apply for licensing or registration once the system is operational.
Recent analysis note that the West Africa nation remains a key hub for cryptocurrency use in Sub-Saharan Africa, with around three million Ghanaians, approximately 9% of the population are estimated to have made crypto transactions totalling more than $3 billion between July 2023 and June 2024.
New regulations have become essential as a result of the country's increasing use of digital assets for remittances and as a hedge against the Ghanaian cedi's volatility.
The bank has now urged VASPs with billboards and other types of public advertising to remove them immediately.
“Failure to comply will result in severe sanctions against the offending service providers,” said BoG in a public notice.
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