Ghana’s securities regulator has sanctioned 11 cryptocurrency trading platforms to join its new regulatory sandbox initiative. This move represents the country’s initial substantial effort to support the crypto sector after passing a law in December aimed at providing regulatory clarity for the local market.

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the 11 crypto platforms will operate under the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, established in December. This law facilitates a regulatory sandbox framework allowing these companies to pilot their services in a supervised environment.

The platforms granted access to the SEC’s sandbox include Africoin, Blu Penguin, Goldbod, Hanypay, Hyro Exchange, HSB Global, KoinKoin, Whitebits, Vaulta, XChain, and Bsystem.

The objective of the sandbox program is to promote innovation in the crypto space while ensuring consumer protection measures are adhered to. Participants must also comply with standards regarding anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing.

The duration of the sandbox is set for 12 months, but companies demonstrating market readiness and compliance with all regulations can transition to a full license after just six months.

Ghana has stated that the insights gained from this pilot program will inform future policies applicable to the cryptocurrency market.

Furthermore, foreign crypto firms are looking to enter the Ghanaian market. For instance, Blockchain.com recently announced an expansion into Ghana, aiming to enhance the country’s crypto payment infrastructure due to the widespread use of mobile money.

As a notable economy in Africa, Ghana sees many crypto transactions under $1,000.

According to blockchain analytics platform Chainalysis, the value of crypto transactions in the Sub-Saharan African region increased by 52% year-on-year, surpassing $205 billion between July 2024 and June 2025.