CAR’s president remains unfazed by the crypto market downturn Abdulrasaq Ariwoola · 2 weeks ago · 2 min read
The president of Central African Republic hints at his continued support for bitcoin in a tweet despite the negative state of the crypto market.
2 min read
Updated: June 16, 2022 at 2:55 am
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate
Central African Republic (CAR) president Faustin-Archange Touadéra has, in a tweet, suggested that he remains unfazed by the crypto market downturn.
Understanding #Bitcoin is crucial to acknowledge its disruptive power to bring long term prosperity. Mathematics don’t account for human emotions.Future generations will look behind at these very moments to 🥳 our strength & unity in choosing the right path during hard times #BTC
— Faustin-Archange Touadéra (@FA_Touadera) June 14, 2022
The tweet is a reaction to the continued crypto winter, which has seen the total market valuation drop below $1 trillion. The president has been a long-term advocate, and his continued support seems strong despite the economic downturn.
CAR bitcoin adoptionOn April 27th, 2021, the central African country announced its adoption of bitcoin as a legal tender. The move made it the first African country and the second in the world, after El Salvador, to legalize the use of Bitcoin.
In a released statement, the president’s office referred to the adoption as:
“a decisive step towards opening up new opportunities.”
Expectedly, the economic merits of the adoption drew a lot of criticism and concerns—most of the concerns centered on whether Bitcoin is likely to solve the country’s financial problems.
However, it is not publicly known if the country had acquired bitcoins and taken the same route as El Salvador. This is could have a considerable impact as the country is one of the poorest in the world.
Conversely, since September 2021, El Salvador has invested more than $104 million in bitcoin for its treasury. However, the country’s holding has halved in value due to the extreme market conditions.
Meanwhile, adoption in CAR, much like in El Salvador, has been slow. Nonetheless, the president of both countries continue to push with missionary zeal.
A catalyst for technological adoptionDespite its adoption, the war-torn country still lacks the technological infrastructure to support the bitcoin adoption. Therefore, it has held onto its crypto adoption as a likely catalyst for fast-paced development.
In a tweet on May 2022, the president announced plans for a project, “Sango,” which he said, “has the potential to reshape CAR’s financial system.” Sango, after completion, is expected to serve as a “legal Crypto Hub” for businesses and crypto-enthusiasts, the president said.
However, the project’s website offers little insight on how it would operate, leaving a lot of questions unanswered.
CAR recently signed a deal with neighboring Cameroon to share its fiber-optic network in 2023. In addition, it plans to install fiber-optic networks by the end of 2023 to improve technological access.
