Bitcoin Legal Tender in Central African Republic

[Franctoshi]

We are just starting up a new era in the evolution of money take it with the grain of salt, This News is huge for the entire industry as another country is having Bitcoin as legal tender.
The moment we're are having about 10 more countries make Bitcoin a legal tender that's when I think we're likely gonna see a dramatic move of adoption by more countries because this is the future of money, no matter how reluctant they become to adopt this technology and where we are heading to.

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[DdmrDdmr]

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The Twitter account seems legit, and the press release is actually a post made from the president’s account, which makes it as official as we’re going to get with the press release.

Going over the bill posted in the OP, and Google translating some of the articles, it does seem rather vague. Moreover, it pivots around the term "cryptocurrencies" and not specifically on "bitcoin", which seems like an exceedingly lose way of making only bitcoin legal tender.

Art.10: Any Economic Agent is required to accept cryptocurrencies as a form of payment when they are offered for the purchase or sale of goods or services.

Art.11: Without prejudice to the actions of the private sector, the State provides alternatives allowing the user to carry out transactions in cryptocurrency, and to have automatic and instantaneous convertibility of cryptocurrencies into the currency used in the Central African Republic and vice versa.

Art. 21: Are excluded from the obligation expressed in Article Article 11 of this law those who, by a notorious and obvious fact, do not have access to technologies which allow transactions in cryptocurrencies.

Article 10 seems exceedingly broad is scope (I mean "cryptocurrencies") and mandatory, although then it is followed by articles 11 and 21. Article 21 is necessary in light of the fact that the country has an internet penetration of only only 7,1%.

Note: I don’t have a Facebook, which was a handicap in this case.

[Oluwa-btc]

This is wonderful news, unless I am missing something: the first country having its own currency (CFA) and still adopting Bitcoin.
...Shame that it's a country with still ongoing civil war. It will give ammo to various naysayers.

I believe the country lack's finance so embarrassing bitcoin in time of financial crises and need are one of the major concerns for Bitcoin creation. Economy of this country should be in a bad shape.
As Bitcoin has stood in the time of COVID-19 Outbreak, Russia/Ukraine War, now they're currently in a civil war!
A good move for an under- developed country! Although will this push the massive bitcoin adoption ?
Countries like United States, Russia, and China needs too first in my own opinion.

[stompix]

It's a country with a solid multi-million population, and it's not an adoption in a special economic zone or by a particular region, which is very cool.

Multi-million but, half of the GDP of Maderia, there I could see at least tourist spending coins, it could be the same thing for Salvador which still has 10x the GDP but in CAR, I have no clue who will actually use it as a legal tender and not as an investment.

I’m still not convinced of the authenticity of neither of the documents seen here so far. They are indeed being echoed by the media, but trying to find an official source to either is a chimera, and I kind of end-up on someone’s Twitter as a source behind articles here and there, which is not what we’d like to see.

I think it's about time for you to be wrong about these
I mean lately, you have proven a bit too much news to be fake or exaggeration, we need something to be real for once, it was getting really annoying with all those big news proven to be nothing the other day. So despite thinking the same as you two days ago and being suspicious right now I'm cheering for fillippone on this.

This monetary union has seen a lot of criticism for the absolute imbalance of powers toward France, who actually used this economic zone as a weapon to increase their influence on Africa.

True Sovereignty? The CFA Franc and French Influence in West and Central Africa
Fabric of Reform Cover The Fabric of Reform

Yeah, let's blame it all on the evil Europeans, Morroco has nowhere near the resources CAR has, it still uses a pegged currency to the euro and $ and it has a GDP per capita 10 times that of Central Africa.
So maybe the problem is somewhere else.

[uchegod-21]

Bitcoin is liberty => Check my avatar text
When El Salvador did it, it was said that it's because they don't have a currency of theirs. And Today Central Africa that has her own currency has done it. What do we call it.
Bitcoin is making the wave and Bitcoin will conquer.
The big countries will be speculating while the poor countries will take the early spot.

Please someone should tell CAR to learn from the mistakes of El Salvador and do something different. Create a Bitcoin city in the country, and experiment what ever bonds or any business with bitcoin while still allowing fiat.
When the people see the goodness of bitcoin, they will all queue in.

[fillippone]

Going over the bill posted in the OP, and Google translating some of the articles, it does seem rather vague.

Hope you can find this useful: I scanned and translated (GT Translation) the law in English.

	ENGLISH	FRENCH

Adding this also to OP for e erybody to notice and use for further discussions.

[ultrloa]

More countries announce the legality of bitcoin in there country will create huge influence to other country which is planning to look at bitcoin to became their legal tender to. And since many country are into this adoption right now maybe we can see bitcoin pump more harder in future since legalizing it will create more demand to more people in different parts of the world.

[Fortify]

Another Country Adopted Bitcoin as a Legal Tender.

The Central African Republic has adopted bitcoin as legal tender, the president's office said Wednesday, becoming the second country in the world to do so behind El Salvador.

It's cool to see another country adopt it as legal tender and definitely builds on it's credibility as an upcoming reserve currency. You always need to be aware of the basis for these things though, as it might just be a populist politician trying to score some easy votes by looking tech orientated to the younger generations. It always made sense for African countries in particular to start using cryptocurrency more, as they often get screwed over by their local banking systems with high fees and exchange rates. This also makes it easier to secure funds outside of their houses and without being subject to bank runs which can more easily happen in fragile economies.

[riso2015]

finally the Central African country has now followed El Salvador's steps to legalize bitcoin in its country, the steps that Central Africa took to legalize bitcoin, this move puts the Central African republic on the map of the most daring and visionary in the world. Who do you think is the next country that will follow El Salvador and Central Africa's decision to legalize bitcoin in their countries.

[dkbit98]

Central African Republic adopts bitcoin as legal currency

Great news for Bitcoin, and dominoes are slowly starting to fall one by one.... next continent should be Europe
I am hoping Central African Republic will use different approach than El Salvador with chivo wallet, and they should allow use of non-custodial open source wallets that are widely available today.
Market is not showing much action after this news and I don't know if this could be just one big volcano getting ready to explode.

CAF Wikipedia page is already reflecting this change in currency section:   
- Central African CFA franc (XAF)
- Bitcoin (XBT)

On April 27, 2022[132], Bitcoin (BTC) was adopted as an additional legal tender. Lawmakers unanimously adopted a bill that made bitcoin legal tender alongside the CFA franc and legalized the use of cryptocurrencies. President Faustin-Archange Touadéra signed the measure into law, said his chief of staff Obed Namsio.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_African_Republic

[DOH!]

Another Country Adopted Bitcoin as a Legal Tender.

I believe this is great news for the crypto market.  Perhaps soon a coalition of other countries will legalize bitcoin around the world, which once again proves how amazing bitcoin can be and provides a true store of value.  We can be proud of this African nation - After a steady stream of FUD kicks, this news is creating a huge buzz.  More impetus for the whole market. Congrat BTC

[fillippone]

We did see this coming: the inevitable IMF’s rant about another country adopting bitcoin as legal tender.

Bitcoin Not A Panacea For Africa's Economic Woes: IMF

Bitcoin is not a cure-all for Africa's economic woes, the International Monetary Fund warned Thursday, after the Central African Republic adopted the cryptocurrency as legal tender.

The head of the IMF's African department, Abebe Aemro Selassie, said that a "robust" payment system with financial transparency and a governance framework must be in place when adopting cryptocurrencies.

Of course the CAR is topping every possibile corruption index worldwide, but I am just wondering how the IMF has spent all those dollars in that economy so far.
Honest question.

[NeuroticFish]

We did see this coming: the inevitable IMF’s rant about another country adopting bitcoin as legal tender.

Bitcoin Not A Panacea For Africa's Economic Woes: IMF

With quite a good number of bad decisions made (including in my country) in the name of IMF, I don't think that they are best suited to say anything about panaceas.
Of course, banking people might call my words a heresy

And yeah, we've been expecting a reaction from them. I may say it has come pretty fast, actually (are they getting scared?)

[Zlantann]

We did see this coming: the inevitable IMF’s rant about another country adopting bitcoin as legal tender.

Bitcoin Not A Panacea For Africa's Economic Woes: IMF

Bitcoin is not a cure-all for Africa's economic woes, the International Monetary Fund warned Thursday, after the Central African Republic adopted the cryptocurrency as legal tender.

The head of the IMF's African department, Abebe Aemro Selassie, said that a "robust" payment system with financial transparency and a governance framework must be in place when adopting cryptocurrencies.

Of course the CAR is roping every possibile corruption index worldwide, but I am just wondering how the IMF has spent all those dollars in that economy so far.
Honest question.

If IMF know the solution to the economic woes of Africa and refuse to help them solve the problem then its wickedness. If they know the solution then they should assist Africa in surmounting them. Rather they give them loans that ends up in the pockets of their associates, agents and cronies. The truth is that they make more money from countries like CAR through loans and lopsided contracts. And this financial imperialists become scared when these nation begin to seek potential solutions to their economic challenges. That was why CAR government refused to inform the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) before they made bitcoin a legal tender because they would discourage them. This is because most African banks are under the influence of IMF.

[Hydrogen]

I would be interested to know how the site of the rwandan genocide came to legalize bitcoin as legal tender. A region currently in a state of civil war. There must be an important story behind it that is worth knowing.

I hope bitcoin becoming legal tender will help citizens there elevate their quality of life.

What ever happened to akon city and promises to create a techno futuristic place in africa resembling wakanda from the black panther movie. Need updates on that.

[stompix]

Of course the CAR is roping every possibile corruption index worldwide, but I am just wondering how the IMF has spent all those dollars in that economy so far. Honest question.

The IMF gives you money in certain conditions when you're obviously so much in debt nobody else is taking the risks.
What they do with this money is their own issue, and is two years after you signed an agreement with a warlord another one comes into power then another and another probably none of the original points are still valid nor would the last one in this chain care about it anymore.

When people blame the FMI for doing this they forget one thing, the FMI usually is used by countries that are already in deep financial problems caused mainly by poor management and corruption, and are already shunned by most international banks and lenders, statistically what would be the chance for somebody in that situation to make a huge recovery after taking more debt and spending like there is no tomorrow?
Whenever I see somebody rebelling against what the FMI imposed it's mainly the same, the FMI asked to cut expenses and reduce government personnel, but none of them does this in order to protect their relatives and voters' well-paid jobs.

If IMF know the solution to the economic woes of Africa and refuse to help them solve the problem then its wickedness. If they know the solution then they should assist Africa in surmounting them. Rather they give them loans that ends up in the pockets of their associates, agents and cronies. The truth is that they make more money from countries like CAR through loans and lopsided contracts.

This is one of the myths I've heard from a lot of east europeans when they joined the EU.
The EU wants to keep us poor so they could sell us their stuff.
If you would have a business in your village what would you like the others to be, unemployed people able to spend only their social welfare checks or well-paid employees that could empty your shelf with one wage?

What ever happened to akon city and promises to create a techno futuristic place in africa resembling wakanda from the black panther movie. Need updates on that.

The bad news:
Singer Akon's Senegalese 'Wakanda' city unstarted, locals left in dark
The really bad news:
Akon Accused Of Planning To Run Akon City As A “Ponzi Scheme”

[Wakate]

Hope you can find this useful: I scanned and translated (GT Translation) the law in English.

	ENGLISH	FRENCH

Adding this also to OP for e erybody to notice and use for further discussions.

I have been expecting this translation for a while now and is finally available for perusing. I know the  International Monetary Fund are always worried about countries adopting Bitcoin has ledger tender which is uncalled for. They always be the first to criticize counties that see good reasons of accepting Bitcoin as an official means for payment of services.

Every countries are always looking for better ways to better their economy in respective of the nature of curruption that might have affected the standard and stability of their economy. If CAR decided to use Bitcoin as an alternative to there paper currency, then I think that is a big thumb for them. Bitcoin is becoming more popular by the day and it use is a decentralized way for a better transaction compared to local currency.

[MinMan]

Central African Republic adopts bitcoin as legal currency

Great news for Bitcoin, and dominoes are slowly starting to fall one by one.... next continent should be Europe
I am hoping Central African Republic will use different approach than El Salvador with chivo wallet, and they should allow use of non-custodial open source wallets that are widely available today.
Market is not showing much action after this news and I don't know if this could be just one big volcano getting ready to explode.

I do believe that this will have that exponential value for sure. The more nations that does this, the easier it will get for others to do it as well. Going from 0 to 1 was harder, as we can see 1 to 2 was easier, and I guarantee you that going from 10 to 12 will be even easier and 50 to 60 will be much simpler. We just need to wait, give it some time and we will see more and more nations join in eventually and that will be great for us.

Maybe one day the nation you live in will turn crypto into a legal tender and you will have a phone app that you could pay anywhere you go and every place will be forced to accept it because it is legal tender now and they are bound to accept it.

[fillippone]

Central African Republic adopts bitcoin as legal currency

Great news for Bitcoin, and dominoes are slowly starting to fall one by one.... next continent should be Europe
I am hoping Central African Republic will use different approach than El Salvador with chivo wallet, and they should allow use of non-custodial open source wallets that are widely available today.
Market is not showing much action after this news and I don't know if this could be just one big volcano getting ready to explode.

I do believe that this will have that exponential value for sure. The more nations that does this, the easier it will get for others to do it as well. Going from 0 to 1 was harder, as we can see 1 to 2 was easier, and I guarantee you that going from 10 to 12 will be even easier and 50 to 60 will be much simpler. We just need to wait, give it some time and we will see more and more nations join in eventually and that will be great for us.

Absolutely. It's all about game theory and competitive advantage. Coming fourth or fifth adopting bitcoin is a move so much more intelligent than adopting when many more countries already have.

[Semar Mesem]

In 2022 more and more countries legalized Bitcoin, and this made me optimistic that the future of Bitcoin would be increasingly shining, at the same time several countries were also tendering like Panama.