Bank of Ghana and SEC Enforce Restrictions on Unauthorized Virtual Assets and Stablecoin Advertisements

In a significant move to regulate Ghana’s emerging digital asset landscape, the Bank of Ghana (BoG), in collaboration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), recently issued a joint directive aimed at curbing the unauthorized advertising of virtual assets and stablecoins nationwide.

The joint press release, issued on 20 February 2026, expresses growing concern over the increasing advertisements of virtual asset products, specifically highlighting the use of large billboards in Accra and other parts of the country. Regulators noted that these promotional campaigns are often conducted by Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) without the necessary approvals.

Effective immediately, all VASPs, including those currently operating within the BoG and SEC regulatory sandboxes, have been directed to refrain from mass marketing or public promotional campaigns unless they have received explicit authorization from both the BoG and the SEC.

This directive clarifies that virtual asset advocacy is a regulated activity under the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 (Act 1154), which requires formal registration with both regulatory bodies. The official statement noted that: “Detailed rules on advocacy and advertisements will be issued in due course.”

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This Act will provide transitional arrangements for existing VASPs to apply for licensing or registration once the regime is fully operational. In the meantime, the current restrictions on public marketing remain strictly enforced.

To ensure compliance, any VASP that has already mounted billboards or other forms of public advertisement is required to remove them within 48 hours of the notice’s date. The BoG and SEC have warned that failure to comply will result in severe sanctions against the offending service providers.

The Bank of Ghana and SEC’s joint enforcement marks a significant shift toward stricter oversight of the country’s digital finance sector, emphasizing promotional compliance as a key part of the new regulations. These actions build on the Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Bill, 2025, which formalized Ghana’s digital asset economy after over 3 million Ghanaians traded $3 billion in cryptocurrencies by 2024.