Uncharted waters: an exegetical exploration of Ghana’s regulatory framework in relation to cryptocurrency

Abstract


 The historical evolution of money has taken many forms such as precious metals, cowries, banknotes and coins, with the latest stage of this evolving continuum being digital currency. This evolution has been characterised by the gradual movement to a more cashlite aware society. The transition is being facilitated by constant improvement in financial technologies and services. Ghana is no exception to this development. The emergence of credit and debit cards as well as mobile banking is digitising Ghana’s currency whilst extending financial services across the country. Mobile money payment facilitated by the telecommunication companies in partnership with the traditional banks is also fast-tracking Ghana’s progress towards a cashlite economy. In 2009, a new cash-like electronic instrument known as Bitcoin emerged. Bitcoin is touted as offering anonymous, fast and irreversible peer to peer transactions, across borders with little or no transactional cost. The introduction of Bitcoin has birthed the cryptocurrency era. The anonymous nature of cryptocurrency transactions is an attraction to criminals and terrorist organisations who use cryptocurrency to facilitate unlawful activities. Despite the enormous financial, social and economic, and even political risk in cryptocurrency use, this financial instrument is largely unregulated in most countries. The potential use of cryptocurrency for purposes outside the law justifies the need for regulation to make cryptocurrency use less attractive for unlawful activities. This article draws on the legal approaches to regulating cryptocurrency by adopting a desk research to theoretically examine and interpret primary and secondary sources of data in order to determine the possible existence of an existing Ghanaian legal framework regulating cryptocurrency in Ghana