Central African Republic Due To Registration For Sango Coin, Due To Crypto Market Conditions Currently

Sango Coins, the national coin of the Central African Republic. (photo: twitter @coin_sango)

JAKARTA - The Central African Republic, which adopted bitcoin as legal tender last April, announced on Monday 19 December that it had delayed registration of its national cryptocurrency tokens, citing "current market conditions" and "marketing reasons."

According to a statement posted on the official Telegram channel of the coin, plans to register Sango Coins on undetermined crypto exchanges have been suspended until the first quarter. Also delayed are "releases" that allow coin holders to sell up to 5% of their coins, which are currently "locked" for one year and cannot be sold.

Asked about the government's initiative to allow foreign investors to purchase US$60,000 (Rp936.6 million) worth of citizenship from Sango Coins, an unnamed moderator on the channel said "more updates about this will be made next month."

The proposal was blocked for unconstitutional use by the country's high court last August.

The war-torn country launched Sango in July 2022 with the aim of raising nearly $1 billion over the next year. But they face many questions about transparency and the current decline in the global crypto market.

According to a Reuters calculation based on data on the Sango website, the coin was only worth 1.66 million US dollars (Rp26 billion) that had been sold, and only reached about 7.9% of its first sales target and so far only 0.01% of its second sales target.

The Central African Republic, with poor internet and electricity access, became the first African country to make a legal tender for bitcoin in April, after El Salvador in September 2021.

According to CoinGecko data, more than $2 trillion has been erased from the cryptocurrency market since its peak in November 2021. Investors have been frightened by the collapse of several crypto companies, including major exchange FTX last month, rising interest rates and recessional concerns.