Central African Republic (CAR) Memecoin Surges Amid Deepfake Controversy

• The $CAR memecoin surged to $530M, but deepfake fears and insider selling have raised major concerns.
• Despite the risks, traders made massive gains, with one turning $5K into $12M in just three hours.

The Central African Republic, CAR sent shockwaves within the crypto realm after it dropped its very own memecoin, $CAR. On 9 February, the token was announced through President Faustin-Archange Touadéra’s official X account as an “experiment” designed to unite the nation and to boost economic development. Built on the Pump.fun platform via Solana, the memecoin quickly gained traction. Within mere hours, it surged to a space-crazy $530 million market cap. But no sooner had the hype started than skepticism and controversy began to spread.

Crypto analysts and traders started sounding alarm bells over the legitimacy of the project. Skynet Insights, one of the more well-known blockchain research groups, sounded a warning that $CAR could be a scam, alleging that insiders control 80% of the supply and have already cashed out more than $15 million. Others noted suspicious details, including the use of Namecheap, a budget domain provider, to register the official website. They found it alarming that the registration occurred just three days before the launch.
This raised serious doubts about whether the token was truly a government-backed initiative.

Deepfake Allegations & Suspicious Timing

It was surrounded by a new level of controversy as AI detection tools marked the presidential video announcement as likely to be a fake. Deepware, a tool for deepfake verification, analyzed the video and found an 82% chance of manipulation, raising doubts about the president’s support for the project. The situation grew even murkier when X unexpectedly suspended the official account @CARMeme_News, which promoted the memecoin, further fueling speculation about the token’s legitimacy.

Even while all these rumors had begun building, President Touadéra defended his support of the project with assurance that an account would come along to return things to order, he still shows strong intentions on cryptocurrency. For instance, he reminds his supporters of the history-making moment when he became only the second world leader, after El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, to support Bitcoin as a national tender. This highlights his role in advancing digital currency adoption. He may still not shy away from endorsing digital currencies.

As skepticism builds, some investors pocket humongous gains. For instance, an investor traded 25 SOL-worth $5K into $12 million within just three hours with a staggering return of 2,450 times, as found by Lookonchain through an on-chain analysis. Memecoins continue to generate volatile speculations, with traders raking in profits while facing equally extreme risks.

It is not the first time that CAR ventures into crypto. In 2022, the country made Bitcoin legal tender, following El Salvador’s example. Later, it launched Sango Coin to tokenize its natural resources.

However, the government later reversed Bitcoin’s legal tender status in 2023, raising questions about its long-term commitment to digital assets. Now, as deepfake suspicions, insider selling, and regulatory uncertainty surround $CAR, the global crypto community wonders whether it is a revolutionary financial experiment or an elaborate scheme.