NewsGhana reported on 10 March 2026 that the Securities and Exchange Commission admitted 11 firms into its regulatory sandbox under the new Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025. This story focuses on the gold tokenisation pilot within that framework, which has drawn renewed attention following a television appearance by the Deputy Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday.
Ghana is preparing to launch a pilot programme for gold-backed securities and tokenised gold assets, with the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) set to serve as the sole custodian of physical gold underlying those financial instruments, under a framework being developed jointly by the SEC and the Board.
The initiative forms part of Ghana’s 12-month digital asset regulatory sandbox that began in March 2026, in which GoldBod is one of 11 companies admitted to test products under direct regulatory supervision. Under the arrangement, GoldBod will carry out the assaying, verification, and vaulting of all gold that underpins the new securities, and will issue periodic reports to the SEC as stipulated in the evolving framework.
The pilot itself will be conducted through a special purpose vehicle, a separate legal entity created specifically to isolate and manage the gold tokenisation activity, enabling the SEC to gather real-world data on how digital assets linked to physical commodities can be integrated into Ghana’s capital markets while maintaining investor protection and transparency.
Mensah Thompson, Deputy Director-General for Finance at the SEC, said the arrangement reflects the legal architecture created by the Ghana Gold Board Act, Act 1140, of 2025, which grants GoldBod the exclusive mandate to grade, assay, purchase, sell, and export gold produced in Ghana. “The framework we are currently working on will see GoldBod as the sole custodian of all gold-backed securities in Ghana, in compliance with the GoldBod Act,” he explained.
Beyond tokenisation, GoldBod is separately developing a blockchain-based track-and-trace system, announced at the Dubai Precious Metals Conference in November 2025, that will monitor every gram of gold from point of production to point of sale across Ghana’s artisanal and small-scale mining sector. That blockchain system is expected to be operational by the end of 2026.
The gold tokenisation pilot adds a distinct layer to Ghana’s broader ambition to position its gold resources as a driver of capital market development and financial innovation, rather than solely an export commodity.
