Following the recent adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender, the Central African Republic is taking the next step. The Central African nation became the second country to legalize the use of Bitcoin after El Salvador.
A month after adopting BTC for transaction purposes, the Central African Republic (CAR) announced a new crypto project. The new crypto initiative dubbed the “Sango Project,” is designed to attract crypto investments.
Additionally, Car wants to move its Bitcoin project to the next level and develop a crypto island within the Metaverse. However, the country did not reveal the exact plan for its Bitcoin plan in the latest announcement.
An Initiative for Global Investors
The president of CAR, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, revealed that the plan is to turn CAR into a crypto hub. Touadéra further added that the new initiative has the potential to reshape the economy of the Central African Republic.
Meanwhile, the CAR’s president did not provide further details about the launch of the new project. Additionally, it is unclear how the country would implement the Bitcoin plan.
Moreover, investors would be welcome to the proposed crypto hub any time soon. The president has expressed his wish for the project to begin as soon as possible.
The report on the Sango project, released by the government, shows a proposed establishment of a digital bank. According to reports, the new bank is officially known as the Digital Nation Bank. Developing a crypto wallet with Layer 2 compatibility is also part of the new plan.
The “Bitcoin Law” of the Central African Republic has indicated that crypto firms are not subjected to taxes. Another interesting aspect of the law is that government agencies are mandated to recognize digital identity ownership.
The CAR’s government is putting in place friendly laws to attract crypto investors worldwide to the country. Part of the government’s move is initiating investor-friendly programs to attract international investors.
More importantly, crypto firms will have access to the country’s natural resources and special citizenship status. The “Citizenship by Investment” initiative comes with a business tax exemption. Another offer on the card is to facilitate land acquisition by the government in BTC for investors.
In addition, Sango will be branded as Crypto Island, a crypto-backed economic zone connected to the Metaverse. The virtual ecosystem will be linked to the real-life island with NFT minting and tokenization features.
IMF Opposes CAR’s Move
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned about the effects of adopting Bitcoin as legal tender. The international financial institution added that Bitcoin poses an immediate danger to the financial stability of CAR.
Although CAR is convinced that its adoption of Bitcoin would spur economic growth following decades of civil war, it has received widespread criticism from crypto experts and opposition lawmakers.
CAR is one of the poorest countries in the world with low internet usage. Moreover, about 11% of its citizens have access to the internet, which could hinder its digital economy drive.
