Central African Republic Introduces Bitcoin as Legal Tender

The Central African Republic is the second country to introduce Bitcoin as legal tender behind El Salvador. 

The Central African Republic Adopts Bitcoin 

The Central African Republic has passed legislation to recognize Bitcoin as a legal tender. 

A Wednesday statement from President Faustin Archange Touadera’s chief of staff Obed Namsio confirmed that Touadera had signed a bill into law to make Bitcoin a legal tender alongside the CFA franc. “This move places the Central African Republic on the map of the world’s boldest and most visionary countries,” said Namsio. 

The move makes the Central African Republic the second country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as an official currency, after El Salvador passed a law to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender in September 2021.  

Rumors of the Central African Republic’s interest in adopting Bitcoin first surfaced over the weekend then intensified Tuesday when Finance Minister Herve Nboda revealed that the country was creating a legal framework to regulate cryptocurrencies. However, introducing Bitcoin as an official currency is a big step up from establishing a regulatory framework. Many countries around the world such as Ukraine and Vietnam have recently moved to regulate crypto without considering the asset class as a legal tender. 

Although the Central African Republic is only the second country to adopt the top crypto as a currency, there are other places around the world that have started encouraging citizens to spend Bitcoin on goods and taxes. In March, Switzerland’s Lugano moved to adopt Bitcoin as a currency alongside USDT and its own LVGA token in partnership with Tether, while Próspera and Madeira both announced plans to start using Bitcoin at the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami. At the same event, Mexico senator Indira Kempis said that she would be speaking to the president in the coming months to discuss introducing Bitcoin as a legal tender. And only yesterday, it emerged that Buenos Aires was considering allowing citizens to use Bitcoin to pay their taxes. Certain U.S. territories, including Colorado and Miami, have announced similar moves in recent months too. 

Despite the growing interest in Bitcoin from the likes of the Central African Republic and other territories around the world, the number one crypto’s market price indicates that demand for the asset is waning. Like most other cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is approaching its seventh month in decline from its high. It’s currently trading at $38,900, over 40% down from its November 2021 peak.

Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this piece owned ETH and several other cryptocurrencies. 

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