BoG, SEC collaborate to promote responsible virtual assets adoption
Ghana has adopted a proactive approach to safeguarding financial stability in the rapidly evolving digital finance space with the launch of the National Virtual Asset Literacy Initiative (NaVALI).
The initiative follows the enactment of the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act 2025 (Act 1154) and is aimed at ensuring that innovation in virtual assets progresses responsibly, with a strong emphasis on consumer protection and market integrity.
The NaVALI is a collaborative initiative led by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) in partnership with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), academia and key industry stakeholders.
It is guided by two main objectives: to strengthen institutional capacity in virtual assets and enabling technologies such as blockchain to support effective regulation and supervision, and to promote nationwide awareness of the risks and implications of virtual assets to discourage uninformed and risky adoption as the sector continues to evolve.
On the theme “Understand before you undertake,” the launch of the NaVALI was attended by regulators, market participants, consumer advocates and the media.
Necessary structures
The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, at the launch in Accra on January 23, stated that regulators were putting in place the necessary structures, systems and processes to ensure the timely and orderly operationalisation of the new Act.
“Effective regulation and enforcement cannot be achieved by regulators alone without a clear understanding of how virtual assets work and the risks they carry,” he said.
He explained that the NaVALI was designed to place education and awareness at the centre of the country’s digital finance regulatory framework.
He said the initiative sought to equip consumers, industry players and public institutions with the knowledge needed to make informed decisions and avoid risky or uninformed participation in the virtual asset space.
Dr Asiama stressed that a well-informed ecosystem was critical to safeguarding consumer protection, market integrity and financial stability.
He added that the initiative reflected a proactive and collaborative approach to ensuring that innovation in virtual assets progressed responsibly in the country.
Defining milestone
The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr James Klutse Avedzi, stressed that the new law offered a defining milestone that would reshape the country’s financial ecosystem, spanning banking, capital markets and emerging digital finance activities.
He said the legislation signalled a fundamental shift in how financial services would be delivered and regulated, with virtual assets and blockchain technology increasingly influencing traditional systems.
Dr Avedzi expressed the commitment of the SEC to forge close collaboration with the BoG to support industry players and market operators as they adjusted to the new regulatory landscape.
He said that the launch of the National Virtual Asset Literacy Initiative was critical to carrying the public along in this transition, stressing that education was indispensable to responsible innovation.
“This initiative marks a significant step in our national journey to deepen understanding of virtual assets and their role within the broader financial system,” he said.
Strong prospects
The Director-General explained that while virtual assets and new financial rails offered strong prospects for financial inclusion, efficiency and economic growth, they also carried risks to investor protection, market integrity and financial stability.
For that reason, he said a comprehensive and well-coordinated national approach was required to balance innovation with effective safeguards.
Dr Avedzi added that the National Virtual Asset Education Manual, introduced under NaVALI, would serve as a structured tool for public education, policy engagement and stakeholder dialogue.
