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 run their products in a controlled environment while regulators monitor risks and compliance.
The sandbox will operate for 12 months and is at the center of Ghana’s first efforts to bring oversight to the crypto sector, according to a press release.
Companies in the first cohort include asset tokenization companies such as Africoin, Blu Penguin, Vaulta, XChain and Goldbod, as well as cryptocurrency exchanges such as Hyro Exchange, HanyPay and WhiteBit.
The commission said companies whose products are market-ready and meet regulatory requirements could move to a full license after six months. Others may remain in the sandbox for the remaining period to perfect their services.
The SEC said the exercise will also help it shape 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.
