Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said 11 companies have been granted access to a regulatory sandbox to test cryptocurrency and digital asset services under the country’s Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025.
The program allows companies to operate their products in a controlled environment while regulators monitor risk and compliance.
The sandbox will operate for 12 months and is at the center of Ghana’s first efforts to oversee the crypto sector, according to a press release.
Companies in the first cohort include asset tokenization companies like Africoin, Blu Penguin, Vaulta, XChain and Goldbod as well as cryptocurrency exchanges like Hyro Exchange, HanyPay and WhiteBit.
The commission said companies whose products are ready for market and meet regulatory requirements could obtain a full license after six months. Others may stay in the sandbox for the remaining period to refine their services.
The SEC said this exercise would also help it develop detailed licensing guidelines for different types of crypto businesses. Data collected during the pilot will inform rules covering areas such as investor protection, market integrity and anti-money laundering controls.
Once the sandbox is closed, the regulator plans to publish final guidelines and open the licensing process to a broader set of virtual asset service providers.
