The President of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, wants to make his country a global Bitcoin (BTC) marketplace through the Sango project. The initiative is intended to provide administrative facilities for blockchain projects in the country as well as the construction of a “crypto island”.
Central African Republic wants to create a hub for Bitcoin
One month after the adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) as a legal tender, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, the President of the Central African Republic, unveils an ambitious first crypto project. The project is called Sango and is intended to create a global investment hub for the blockchain industry:
Following the unanimous adoption by the National Assembly of the BTC legal tender status, we are pleased to showcase the first concrete initiative! It goes beyond politics & administration & has the potential to reshape CAR‘s financial system! bitcoinhttps://t.co/1oxLHOen6q
– Faustin-Archange Touadéra (@FA_Touadera) May 24, 2022
Sango is a reference to the nation’s second official language alongside French.
This initiative has several facets, the first being the creation of a dedicated blockchain marketplace. There is also the vision of a “crypto island” and the development of a digital wallet. This island dedicated to crypto-currencies is also reminiscent of another project: Satoshi Island.
The descriptive documentation boasts of a decrease in the boundaries between the virtual and the real with a representation of the island’s real estate in the metaverse. Everything will be tokenised and this includes deeds to physical property.
Crypto investors are also promised access to the country’s natural resources such as gold, diamonds, and uranium.
Challenges in bringing such a project to fruition
Faustin-Archange Touadéra sees the Central African Republic’s recognition of Bitcoin as the beginning of a much deeper transformation of the state’s economy, as opposed to the current model:
For us, the formal economy is no longer an option. An impenetrable bureaucracy keeps us stuck in systems, which give us no chance to compete. The solution was to rethink our economic philosophy. “
Despite this, given the political instability as well as the economic situation in the Central African Republic, the achievement of such goals seems difficult. It will of course be necessary to convince investors to deploy the necessary infrastructure there and to face international pressure, as is the case for El Salvador.
At present, the Sango project presentation document looks more like a sales brochure with hard-hitting arguments for the general public than a detailed whitepaper. If this vision becomes a reality, it could nevertheless be an economic boon for the country and a vehicle for growth.
