The Central African Republic has inaugurated its own cryptocurrency center, called Sango. This was announced by the BBC, which recalls how this move follows the country’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender currency in May. The Central African Republic made this decision by following in the footsteps of El Salvador.
“Sango means the language of money and wealth. Cryptocurrency helps poor people gain control over their investments,” said Faustin Archange Touadéra, president of the Central African Republic, who likened the project to “digital gold”.
“Right now the other option for cash is cryptocurrency,” he added. “For us the normal economic system is no longer the only option”.
The details are not yet clear, but the project, among other goals, will help people invest in the country’s important mineral resources, according to Minister of Mines, Rufin Benam Beltoungou. The project website also states that a dedicated cryptocurrency island will be created on the Oubangui River, where investors will be able to invest with tax breaks and have a digital residency.
The government estimates that the Central African Republic’s natural resources are worth over $ 3 trillion, but civil wars that have continued for nearly a decade have helped make the nation one of the poorest in the world.
The situation in the Central African Republic sees around 90% of the Central African population without internet access, even though the government signed an agreement with Cameroon to share its fiber-optic network in 2023.
