Amid a rout in industry, Central African Republic (CAR) has said it will soon start selling a new cryptocurrency. This cryptocurrency, according to country will be worth $21 million next week, but the project has is fair share of sceptics who are questioning the projects feasibility in a poorly connected, war-torn nation.
According to Reuters, the “Sango Coin”, described as a “national digital currency” will go on sale on July 21 with a minimum investment of $500 to be paid in cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ethereum, according to the country’s Sango investment website.
Despite minimal access to internet and electricity, Central African Republic became the first African state to make bitcoin legal tender for exchange in April. The move raised eyebrows among many crypto experts and also drew words of caution from the International Monetary Fund.
The relatively new cryptocurrency market can be considered highly volatile with Bitcoin falling 55 per cent this year. 2020 and 2021 sat crypto prices rise but have fallen sharply in recent times due to investors foregoing risky assets.
But this “crypto winter” has not dampened CAR which has gone ahead with the scheme. “For us, the formal economy is no longer an option,” President Faustin-Archange Touadera announced at an online event marketing the ‘Sango Coin’ crypto project earlier this month. “The alternative to cash is cryptocurrency,” he added.
According to Reuters, despite rich reserves of gold and diamonds, Central African Republic is one of the world’s poorest and least-developed countries and has been gripped by rebel violence for years.
In the Central African Republic’s initiative, foreign investors will be able to buy citizenship for $60,000 worth of crypto, with the equivalent Sango Coins held as collateral for five years, and “e-residency” for $6,000, held for three years, according to the Sango website.
