Central African Republic adopts bitcoin as legal tender
The Central African Republic (CAR) has become the second country to adopt bitcoin as its legal currency.
A statement by the CAR presidency said the decision followed unanimous votes from lawmakers to adopt bitcoin as its official currency.
This implementation puts CAR on the global map as part of the countries with a revolutionary mission towards innovation.
Bitcoin at its emergence was considered a threat to the world’s market and was criticised by many economists who countered its acceptance by El Salvador to make bitcoin its official currency making it the ever first country to do so.
The internet is needed to use any cryptocurrency but in 2019, just four per cent of people in CAR had access to the web, according to the WorldData website.
The country currently uses the French-backed CFA franc as its currency, along with most other former French colonies in Africa.
Some see the adoption of Bitcoin as an attempt to undermine the CFA, amid a contest for influence over the resource-rich country between Russia and France.
“The context, given the systemic corruption and a Russian partner facing international sanctions, does encourage suspicion,” French analyst Thierry Vircoulon told the AFP news agency.
Economist Yann Daworo told BBC Afrique it would make life easier, as transactions can be made with smartphones and it was easy to convert Bitcoin to any other currency.
“Businessmen will no longer have to walk around with suitcases of CFA francs that will have to be converted into dollars or any other currency to make purchases abroad,” he said.
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