The Central African Republic pres. Champions Crypto
The Central African Republic was the first country in Africa and the second in the world to make bitcoin an official currency, and the president has said that crypto can help strengthen financial inclusion, Reuters reported on Sunday (June 3).
The country has enormous wealth in gold and diamonds, but is still poor and underdeveloped, according to the report. In April, the country’s parliament adopted a measure involving cryptocurrencies. At the time, Obed Namsio, chief of staff to President Faustin-Archange Touadera, said the president supported the bill “because it would improve conditions for Central African citizens.”
According to Reuters, Namsio characterized the measure as “a decisive step towards opening up new opportunities for our country”.
On Sunday, Touadera spoke at a launch event for the Sango crypto initiative, saying that cryptocurrency is a good alternative to the cost of using traditional bank accounts.
“The alternative to cash is cryptocurrency,” he said. “For us, the formal economy is no longer an option.”
Six Central African countries use the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) and the Central African CFA franc as their currency. According to Reuters, two former prime ministers of the Central African Republic opposed the country’s introduction of cryptocurrency without the approval of the regional central bank.
The central bank issued a statement at the time saying that “BEAC learned at the same time as the public adopted a new law on cryptocurrency in the Central African Republic,” and a spokesman had no further comment.
The first country to adopt cryptocurrency as its official currency was El Salvador, although other countries have acted similarly. The Central Bank of Nigeria issued a digital currency called eNaira, which will work on telephones with SMS features, and the report noted that regulators in South Africa and Tanzania are investigating the possibility of using cryptocurrencies in their countries.
Read more: The report says that CBDCs can surpass crypto; Fed Powell sees a role in strengthening the dollar
Last month, PYMNTS wrote that authorities in the Philippines and Vietnam are investigating the digital currencies of central banks (CBDC), after choosing the Japanese blockchain company Soramitsu to study the offers.
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