Bank of Ghana Establishes Dedicated AI and Virtual Assets Departments to Bolster Financial Oversight

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has taken a major step toward modernising its regulatory framework with the establishment of two new dedicated departments, one focused on Artificial Intelligence and the other on Virtual Assets, as part of a broader effort to strengthen oversight of Ghana’s fast evolving financial sector.

The newly established Virtual Assets Department (VAD) has been tasked with regulating and supervising participants within Ghana’s growing digital asset ecosystem following the passage of the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 (Act 1154). The department will work closely with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), and other stakeholders to ensure that Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) operate in a safe, transparent, and compliant environment.

The VAD’s mandate is aimed at balancing innovation with financial stability by supporting the growth of emerging technologies while protecting consumers and safeguarding the financial system. Through the development of clear regulatory guidelines and effective supervisory structures, the department seeks to build public confidence in virtual assets and encourage their responsible adoption within Ghana’s financial sector.

The development comes amid rapid growth in Ghana’s digital asset landscape, which has expanded significantly since the release of the Bitcoin white paper and now includes more than three million users.

On the Artificial Intelligence front, BoG Governor Dr. Johnson Asiama has indicated that the central bank is approaching AI adoption with both optimism and caution. He urged African central banks to deepen their understanding of stablecoin risks and the governance implications associated with deploying AI tools in financial supervision, warning that introducing such technologies without proper safeguards could create new forms of systemic risk.

The creation of the AI department reflects the central bank’s recognition that artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly central to financial regulation. The BoG plans to develop frameworks that allow AI driven innovation to thrive within clearly defined boundaries while addressing concerns such as algorithmic bias, data privacy breaches, and systemic vulnerabilities that may result from excessive reliance on automated systems.

Dr. Asiama also emphasised that traditional banks will continue to play a critical role within the evolving digital asset ecosystem and will not be displaced as the sector grows. According to him, virtual assets will interact with the traditional banking sector through settlement accounts, custody services, compliance structures, and payment channels.

“We are not creating a parallel financial system, we are extending the perimeter of the existing one,” he stated.

The establishment of the two departments forms part of a broader institutional reform agenda at the Bank of Ghana. The Financial Stability Council has also introduced a framework for conglomerate supervision to strengthen oversight of financial groups with cross sector operations. In addition, it has implemented a risk matrix for monitoring risks within the virtual asset services space, aimed at minimising regulatory arbitrage through coordinated risk assessment across banking, insurance, and capital market activities.

Together, these initiatives signal a deliberate shift by Ghana’s central bank toward integrated and forward looking supervision designed to keep pace with technological advancement while preserving the stability of the broader financial system.