Ghana to License Bitcoin & Crypto Platforms Amid Rising Adoption Across Africa

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Ghana to License Bitcoin & Crypto Platforms Amid Rising Adoption Across Africa

Ghana plans to license bitcoin and cryptocurrency platforms as part of a new regulatory framework expected to be submitted to parliament by September, according to Bank of Ghana Governor Johnson Asiama in an interview with Bloomberg.

The central bank aims to regulate bitcoin and crypto usage, improve financial data collection, and better manage the local currency, the cedi. The cedi has gained 48% over the past year after a 25% decline the previous year, creating challenges for consistent inflation control.

“We are actually late in the game,” said the Governor of the Bank of Ghana Johnson Asiama. Many of the country’s economic agents make and receive payments in cryptocurrencies but they are not being captured in the nation’s financial accounts because of the absence of regulatory oversight, he said, adding “it has implications for the local currency.”

The current policy interest rate is 28%, while inflation stood at 13.7% in June, resulting in Ghana’s highest real interest rate in 20 years.

Roughly 3 million Ghanaians, or 17% of the adult population, use bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, according to Bloomberg. Between July 2023 and June 2024, bitcoin and crypto transactions in Ghana totaled $3 billion. In the same period, Nigeria saw $59 billion in transactions, nearly half of sub-Saharan Africa’s $125 billion total.

“It is in the interest of African authorities to mainstream cryptocurrency into their financial system for better oversight,” stated the CEO of Web3 Africa Group Del Titus Bawuah. “Clearly data supports that companies and citizens heavily use virtual currencies.”

This post Ghana to License Bitcoin & Crypto Platforms Amid Rising Adoption Across Africa first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Oscar Zarraga Perez.

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