The Central Africa Republic (CAR) has officially launched the public sale of its national digital currency, the Sango Coin. The coin is on sale at $0.1 and is expected to rise to $0.15 before hitting its listing price of $0.45.
CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadéra announced Sango Coin earlier this month, touting it as the next-generation currency for the African nation. And despite the widespread skepticism, the president believes that Sango Coin will be a gateway to the country’s natural resources.
As per its website, Sango is going for $0.1, with the country targeting to sell 200 million tokens in a token sale that will last a year. This price will increase shortly, with the predicted listing price expected to be $0.45. At press time, just over 2 million Sango Coins have been sold, bringing in $200,000 to the CAR government.
For those interested in purchasing the coins, the minimum they can spend is $100. This threshold had initially been set at $500, but reports claim that there was an outcry from prospective buyers that forced the government to lower its expectations. Payment is being made in digital assets, with ETH, DAI, USDT, USDC, BTC, and BNB being accepted.
Once an investor purchases Sango Coin in its current sale, they have to hold it for at least one year and can’t transfer or withdraw it according to the token’s vesting rules.
CAR is touting Sango Coin to be a ‘multi-dimensional asset’ that will be backed by a dedicated BTC reserve maintained by the country’s Treasury. It will run on a BTC sidechain similar to the Liquid Network, with Adam Back’s Blockstream reported to be playing a major role in the entire process.
The Central African nation will also use Sango Coin to offer citizenship. Anyone who locks fixed collateral of Sango Coins worth at least $60,000 for a period of five years qualifies. After this period, the government will return the coins to them.
While President Touadéra pushes BTC and Sango Coin, his people are not as enthusiastic. Several reports have revealed that most people in the country have no access to electricity or the internet, excluding them from this currency. Even leaders supporting the president have conceded that the infrastructure isn’t in place yet, but they believe that it’s BTC first and then the infrastructure later.
Watch: The BSV Global Blockchain Convention panel, Blockchain in Africa
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