The Central African Republic (CAR) has taken steps to tokenize its natural resources, despite the lukewarm response to its indigenous digital currency, Sango Coin. The Sango project team announced the new initiative as a “new era of financial empowerment through blockchain technology”. To position the nation as a preferred business destination in Africa, the CAR’s legislative body has granted approval for the tokenization of land and natural resources. The law also facilitates streamlined online business license and electronic visa applications for both domestic and international companies.
The Sango project, which launched last year, was designed to enable investment in CAR through Sango Coin, a state-issued token backed by Bitcoin on a separate sidechain network that is not a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). In April 2022, the nation made headlines by becoming the second country (after El Salvador) to accept Bitcoin as legal tender alongside the CFA Franc. However, the Constitutional Court ruled that purchasing land and citizenship using the token was unconstitutional two months after the token’s ICO began, and the law was reversed roughly a year later.
Despite the initial setbacks, President Faustin-Archange remains dedicated to crypto. He has been credited with spearheading the new law, which is reminiscent of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s tenacity in pushing Bitcoin as legal tender in his own country. El Salvador has since launched Bitcoin education and mining initiatives, and the President has also onboarded well-known Bitcoin diehards as personal advisors.
