Sam George says over 3.1 million Ghanaians using virtual assets to come under regulation

Minister for Communications and Digital Technology, Samuel Nartey George, has disclosed that more than 3.1 million Ghanaians are using virtual assets, including cryptocurrencies.

To this end, he has assured users that the government’s quest to regulate the sector is not intended to slow down innovation but to strengthen the ecosystem and safeguard its use.

He was speaking at the maiden African Virtual Assets Summit, organised by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Virtual Assets Summit is the first of its kind in Ghana since the promulgation of the Cybersecurity and Virtual Asset Bills, which are aimed at safeguarding the use of the digital financial ecosystem.

In his keynote address, Minister for Communications and Digital Technology Samuel Nartey George defended the need to regulate the sector, noting that more than 3.1 million Ghanaians are using virtual assets.

“Ghana will not stand on the sidelines to watch this change unfold; we will regulate it to make it safe for our people. The memorandum for the Virtual Assets and Services Providers Act, 2025, Act 1154, states that Ghana ranks 29th in the world for cryptocurrency adoption, with about 3.1 million Ghanaians using these assets. Activities on that scale cannot sit outside the law; they must be brought within the law, and that’s exactly what we have done in parliament by passing Act 1154,” he said.

The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Johnson Asiamah, has said the use of virtual assets could support governments in finding solutions to the long-standing challenge of access to credit.

Deputy Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mensah Thompson, urged financial market regulators to be innovative as the virtual assets market becomes more sophisticated through the use of technology.

Organised by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Ghana and its partners, the forum provided a platform for African regulators to deliberate on measures to move away from physical cash.