Ghana’s president ‘endorses’ Solana to drive fintech growth

The president of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, has endorsed blockchain and cryptocurrency network Solana as a tool to help drive financial inclusion in Africa. 

However, circumstances surrounding the statement suggest that Mahama may have been the latest popular personality to fall victim to another hacking scam. 

Driving the news 

• In a social media post last Saturday, Mahama praised Solana’s low transaction costs, adding that the platform is well-positioned to enable crypto payments in Africa. 
• Attached to the post was a clip of Mahama’s speech at the Africa Prosperity Dialogue held in Feb., where he called for African governments to embrace technology to drive development. 

Key quote 

• Mahama tweeted: 

“Financial inclusion isn't just a need for Ghana—it's essential for all of Africa. With its low transaction costs, Solana could be the key to driving fintech growth and enabling cryptocurrency payments & investments across the continent.” 

Dive deeper 

• Mahama’s brief speech had no clear link to the post. He didn’t mention blockchain, cryptocurrencies, or Solana but spoke broadly about improving technology for financial inclusion and economic growth in Africa.
• According to reports, the post itself is the last one standing in a series of deleted tweets promoting a memecoin. 
• Screenshots of the deleted posts from Mahama’s social media show him announcing the launch of the Solanafrica memecoin project with the Bank of Ghana, urging people to invest to help cover transaction fees.

• Despite claims it was launched in partnership with the BoG, there is no announcement to that effect on the bank’s website. 

Red flags

• Blockchain insights show that the coin, launched at midnight today, briefly rose in value and then came crashing down shortly after. 
• Data further showed that more than 80% of the coin’s total supply is concentrated in three wallets, a tactic popular with pump-and-dump crypto scams. 
• The coin's website claims the BoG is involved but incorrectly names the CEO of Ghana International Bank, Dean Adansi, as the central bank governor.
• It also incorrectly named deceased Ghanaian politician John Kumah as Ghana’s deputy minister of finance. 

Before now 

• Hacking schemes, where social media accounts of well-known figures are hijacked to promote fraudulent memecoins, have become increasingly common in recent months.
• Government accounts such as Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the president of Congo (DRC), Felix Tshisekedi, have been hacked or impersonated recently to promote memecoin scams. 
• Mariblock reported in February that the president of the Central African Republic, Faustine-Archange Touadéra launched the $CAR memecoin, initially in a suspicious manner consistent with these hacking schemes. 
• However, Touadéra confirmed the memecoin’s legitimacy a few days later, labeling $CAR’s launch as an experiment to drive investment in the country.