Ghanaian Crypto Stamps Commemorate Monarch’s Silver Jubilee

Ghana’s national postal service is making sure that the 25th coronation anniversary of its king, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, is forever commemorated on the blockchain. To honor the king’s 25-year contribution to Ghana’s development and cultural integrity, Ghana Post has released a new stamp collection called “Crypto Stamp.” This collection combines traditional values with new-age technology by linking physical crypto stamps to unique nonfungible tokens (NFTs) that can be verified on the blockchain. The crypto stamps are limited to 7,200 pieces and cost 250 Ghanaian cedi ($18) each. However, the website does not provide information about shipping charges for international destinations. To claim the exclusivity of their physical collectible, buyers need to manually link it to its digital twin on the blockchain. The physical stamps have an integrated near-field communication (NFC) chip to aid in this pairing process. The Crypto Stamp collection is the most expensive stamp collection offered by Ghana Post, with other collections costing less than half of its price. Currently, the store also offers an exclusive gold frame stamp priced at approximately 100,000 cedi ($7,200). This makes Ghana the first African country to introduce a commemorative NFT-based stamp collection. In related news, the South African Reserve Bank is increasing its efforts to regulate and adopt cryptocurrencies and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Their plan focuses on increasing the accessibility of financial technology, modernizing payment infrastructure, and removing usage barriers, but it is limited to the domestic market.