The Central African Republic (CAR) has taken a significant step towards the integration of cryptocurrencies by passing a law that allows foreign investment in digital assets. This move comes after the CAR adopted Bitcoin and introduced its own digital currency, the Sango, as legal tender last year.
The bill was unanimously passed, as announced by Simplice Mathieu Sarandji, the president of the National Assembly, on Monday.
This legislative development follows the CAR's surprise announcement in April 2022 that it had adopted Bitcoin as its official currency. Three months later, the country revealed plans to launch its own digital currency, the Sango.
The announcements raised eyebrows among analysts due to the country's deep-rooted poverty and lack of infrastructure, where only one out of every seven individuals has access to electricity.
The new law, aimed at "tokenizing" natural and land resources, establishes a framework for utilizing Bitcoin and the Sango in the investment process, according to the text of the law.
This includes provisions for "foreign nationals interested in investing in mining, agricultural, and forestry assets," allowing them the right to repatriate annual profits abroad after fulfilling tax, duty, and other obligations.
However, opposition members of parliament have accused the government of engaging in the "sell-off of natural resources to the world's gangsters."
As a landlocked country with abundant mineral resources but plagued by extreme poverty, the CAR has faced persistent instability since gaining independence from France in 1960.
President Faustin Archange Touadera has faced criticism for enlisting Russian paramilitary forces to support his regime against armed rebel groups. Critics claim that he has been using gold and diamonds to pay for this assistance.
The CAR is the first African nation to embrace Bitcoin as a national currency, following in the footsteps of El Salvador, which became the first country in the world to do so.
