The Central African Republic have officially adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in the country.
This makes the CAR the second country in the world to recognize Bitcoin as legal currency after El Savador. In a statement from the office of President Faustin-Archange Touadéra’s, the country’s National Assembly unanimously passed the bill.
The President’s chief of staff, Obed Namsio said in a statement that the CAR “is the first country in Africa to adopt bitcoin as legal tender”.
“This move places the Central African Republic on the map of the world’s boldest and most visionary countries,” he adds.
The country’s Finance minister, Herve Ndoba speaking to Bloomberg said,
“There’s a common narrative that sub-Saharan African countries are often one step behind when it comes to adapting to new technology. This time, we can actually say that our country is one step ahead.”
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The Central African Republic is one of Africa’s poorest nations, with an economy that is heavily dependent on mining. The country has a population of 4.83 million, with around 11% with access to the internet.
For Nigeria, do we think our Government will get to this point? Even though the Central Bank of Nigeria barred banks from enabling cryptocurrency transaction, in 2021, Nigerians traded around N316.9 billion in Bitcoin. According to Bitcoin trading platform Paxful, Nigeria is second only to the US for bitcoin trading.However, the CBN have remained bullish in their resolve.
Following the ban in February 2021, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had publicly declared, “Rather than adopt a policy that prohibits cryptocurrency operations in the Nigerian banking sector, we must act with knowledge and not fear”. He continued by calling for a “robust regulatory regime that is thoughtful and knowledge-based”.
So we’ll wait and see what happens in the coming months, especially with the Vice President planning to contest for the number 1 seat.
