One Of The World's Poorest Countries Central African Republic Adopts Bitcoin As Its Official Currency

Despite rich reserves of both gold and diamonds, the Central African Republic is one of the world¡¯s poorest and least-developed countries. It has even been gripped by rebel violence for years.

As per World Bank, the Central African Republic remains one of the poorest countries in the world. It ranked near the very bottom of the UN Human Development Index (188 out of 189 countries) in 2020.

But that hasn't deterred the country from taking a big step toward opening up new opportunities. The nation has adopted Bitcoin as an official currency, the presidency confirmed yesterday, as per a report on AlJazeera.

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This makes the Central African Republic the first country in Africa to do so, and only the second in the world to adopt Bitcoin as official currency, after El Salvador did it last year.

A bill governing the use of cryptocurrency was adopted unanimously by parliament last week, said a statement signed by Obed Namsio, chief of staff of President Faustin-Archange Touadera.

¡°The President supports this bill because it will improve the conditions of Central African citizens,¡± Namsio reportedly told Reuters.

In the statement, he called it ¡°a decisive step toward opening up new opportunities for our country¡±.

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Move Not Welcomed?

The Central African Republic is one of six nations that use the Central African CFA franc, a regional currency governed by the Bank of Central African States (BEAC).

Raising their concern over the move, two of the country¡¯s former prime ministers had last week called it a ¡°serious offence¡±.

¡°The BEAC learned at the same time as the public of the enactment of a new law on cryptocurrency in the Central African Republic,¡± a BEAC spokesman told Reuters.

Similarly, El Salvador, the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender last year, faced backlash. It even postponed a proposed Bitcoin bond in March 2022 amid global market turmoil.

What Other African Governments Have Done

Other African governments in the past have taken a varied approach to regulate cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

Nigeria¡¯s central bank barred local banks from working with cryptocurrencies last year before launching its digital currency, the eNaira.

Also, South African regulators have been exploring the potential regulation of cryptocurrencies and other blockchain technology. On the other hand, Tanzania¡¯s central bank said last year said that it was working on a presidential directive to prepare for cryptocurrencies, as per Aljazeera.

Also Read: Countries Where Cryptocurrency Is Currently Banned

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