Crypto Push in CAR Strengthens Elites, Risks Foreign Exploitation

The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) reported that the Central African Republic’s move toward cryptocurrency has increased the power of political and business elites while leaving the country open to outside criminal influence.

The document, titled Behind the blockchain: Cryptocurrency and criminal capture in the Central African Republic, examines how several crypto projects, including adopting Bitcoin as legal tender, introducing Sango Coin, and launching a local meme coin, were carried out in a country with limited infrastructure and weak regulation.

Researchers noted that limited access to electricity, mobile phones, and the internet makes it nearly impossible for most citizens to participate in digital trading.

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The report stated:

An impoverished population, exposed to mass executions and torture, with limited access to electricity, mobile phones and the internet, cannot engage in crypto investments in any meaningful way.

It added that these initiatives seemed aimed more at attracting foreign investors than at improving the lives of local residents.

The report also points to a law passed in July 2023 that allows the tokenization of natural resources such as oil, gold, timber, and land. GI-TOC warns that this could reduce national control over key assets and create new risks of exploitation.

Researchers described the projects as unrealistic. With only 15.7% of people connected to electricity, less than 40% owning mobile subscriptions, and an average income of $467 per year, the report concludes that few have the tools or income needed to trade cryptocurrency effectively.

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