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 risk and compliance.
The sandbox will run for 12 months and is at the center of Ghana’s early efforts to bring oversight to the crypto sector, according to a press release.
Companies in the first cohort include asset tokenization firms such as Africoin, Blu Penguin, Vaulta, XChain and Goldbod, as well as cryptocurrency exchanges such as Hyro Exchange, HanyPay and WhiteBit.
The commission said firms 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 improve 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 project will inform regulations covering areas such as investor protection, market integrity and anti-money laundering controls.
Once the sandbox closes, the regulator plans to publish final guidelines and open up the licensing process to a wider set of virtual asset service providers.
