The Central African Republic (CAR) has passed a new law that paves the way for the tokenization of the country’s resources, despite the low interest the country’s national digital currency, Sango Coin, has received.
The team behind the Sango project announced the new law on X this week, describing it as the start of “a new era of financial empowerment through blockchain technology.”
🌍 The SANGO Project's Next Chapter 🌍
Exciting news! The Central African Republic is ushering in a new era of #financial empowerment through #blockchain technology.
Guided by the visionary leadership of President Professor @FA_Touadera , we're ready to make a global impact. pic.twitter.com/m1jYjsvc0q
— Sango (@sangoproject) August 21, 2023
CAR’s parliament reportedly passed the new law unanimously, enabling the tokenization of land and other natural resources. The aim is to make CAR one of the most favorable business environments in the African continent.
Additionally, the law lays the foundation for the online application and processing of business licenses and e-visas for local and international companies. Once they secure the licenses, they can “seamlessly operate through the Sango platform, leveraging the capabilities of blockchain.”
Tokenization of resources was one of the key tenets of the ill-fated Sango project. When the project launched last year, it claimed to allow investment in CAR through the Sango coin, including in its vast natural resources, which include gold and diamonds. This tokenization has “tremendous possibilities” and would give everyone “access to the riches of our land,” President Faustin-Archange Touadera stated at the time.
While Touadera has now delivered the promise of resource tokenization, other pledges, like the ability to purchase CAR citizenship with digital assets, have faced major hurdles. At launch, the Sango project claimed that staking $60,000 worth of the token for at least five years entitled investors to citizenship, complete with an official CAR passport.
The country’s Constitutional Court ruled in September 2022 that purchasing land and citizenship through the token was illegal.
Despite the hurdles, Touadera remains committed to digital assets. In 2022, CAR became the first country in Africa to make BTC legal tender and second globally after El Salvador. However, with a 10% internet penetration, the country has struggled to record any meaningful BTC adoption.
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