Morocco and Ghana are racing to formalize their fast-growing crypto sectors, introducing licensing and Anti-Money Laundering (AML)-heavy frameworks aimed at protecting their currencies and bringing order to markets that have long operated in regulatory grey zones.
- •The regional turn comes as crypto adoption surges across Africa, where low entry barriers, currency instability, and expanding mobile penetration have turned digital assets into an informal financial lifeline.
- •After years of an outright ban on crypto assets, Morocco is signaling a cautious pivot into the crypto market, publishing a draft law that would license crypto-asset service providers.
- •Ghana, on the other hand, has unveiled a national policy blueprint that creates its first structured rules for virtual asset providers, marking a break from years of cautioning its citizens.
Despite the hostility initially displayed on crypto usage by both states, adoption intensified. Over three million Ghanaians are reported to use digital assets, while six million people use cryptocurrency in Morocco despite the ban. Policymakers in Africa are discovering that regulating crypto is no longer optional as demand remains a juggernaut and acceptability grows worldwide.
The Bank of Ghana’s framework introduces licensing requirements for exchanges, custodians, wallet operators, and brokerages, with supervisory roles divided among existing regulators. A new Virtual Assets Regulatory Office will coordinate oversight across the country's central bank, capital markets regulator, intelligence agencies, and tax authorities to avoid the fragmented supervision.
Ghana is aligning with the FATF’s Travel Rule, embedding strict know-your-customer (KYC) rules, data-retention, and suspicious-transaction reporting obligations. The central bank has reaffirmed that digital assets will not become legal tender, insulating the national currency (the cedi).
Morocco's Route
In Morocco, the framework introduces a dual-regulator model where the capital-markets authority would manage licensing, token issuance, and market conduct, while Bank Al-Maghrib (Morocco’s central bank) would police stablecoins and asset-backed tokens. A national financial-intelligence authority would enforce AML/CFT obligations including 10-year data-retention requirements and mandatory reporting of suspicious transactions.
Borrowing from Europe’s MiCA rules, the bill also demands disclosures and strong internal controls from operators. The government seeks to cultivate a regulated innovation corridor without loosening its grip on currency sovereignty.
The proposed regulations in these two countries come after Kenya passed its first comprehensive crypto law. Like the Moroccan draft, the law directs a joint oversight by the Central Bank, Capital Markets Authority, and other financial agencies.
The law requires every virtual-asset firm to establish a physical office in Kenya, maintain at least three natural-person directors, segregate client assets, and undergo independent IT audits. Providers must hold accounts in Kenyan banks and comply with enhanced AML, data-protection, and cybersecurity standards.
Each of these jurisdictions is betting that structured oversight of virtual assets will attract investment, protect consumers, and insulate fragile currencies from unregulated crypto flows. Balancing the market juggernaut and the need to control financial crime will be a delicate experiment.
