President Of The Central African Republic Launches Sango As The Country's Official Crypto Currency

President of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, (photo: twitter @FA_Touadera )

JAKARTA - The President of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, has announced that his government will support initiatives centered on developing blockchain infrastructure in the country.

In a Monday, June 27 announcement on Twitter, Touadéra said the CAR government would launch Sango, a crypto initiative proposed following the country's adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender in April.

With #Bitcoin as #legaltender & inspiration, our country opens a new chapter in its inspiring journey towards a brighter future via #blockchain #tech.

Everyone is welcome to witness the Sango Genesis Event that will be broadcast on the 3rd of July, on https://t.co/LIQiKGhcBS. pic.twitter.com/7u6knv5f6w

— Faustin-Archange Touadéra (@FA_Touadera) June 27, 2022

According to the Sango website, the government intends to launch the program during a July 3 event where the president, members of his cabinet, and industry experts will discuss the physical and digital infrastructure CAR will need to enter the crypto space, as well as the legal framework for the country.

Sango's project plans include building a “legal crypto hub” that aims to attract global crypto businesses and enthusiasts, expanding Bitcoin adoption in the country, and creating a virtual “crypto island” as a special economic zone in the metaverse that will likely have equal space in the physical world.

According to Sango, CAR plans to have a specific legal framework for crypto by the end of 2022.

“An ambitious strategy to quickly build a successful economy can only rely on new technologies that have taken the world by storm and taken money to new heights, with Bitcoin as the watchword,” said Touadéra, as quoted by Cointelegraph.

Touadéra and CAR's plans to adopt crypto appear to be modeled on El Salvador, whose Bitcoin Act states that digital currency legal tenders take effect in September 2021.

The Latin American nation also announced plans to create a Bitcoin City funded by $1 billion worth of BTC bonds, but had to be suspended this June amid a sluggish crypto market.