CAR’s Touadéra agrees to revise the law on Bitcoin
he President of the Central African Republic, Faustin Archange Touadéra, has pledged to respect the rules governing the financial environment of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (Cemac) concerning cryptocurrencies. During the one-day Cemac Heads of State summit held last March 17 in Yaoundé, the leader reassured his peers he has no intention of leaving the community.
"Cryptocurrencies offer various financial opportunities and that’s what we are looking for. However, we have no intention of leaving the community. We will certainly continue to respect the rules,” said Faustin Archange Touadéra, who became the Cemac president during the Yaoundé summit. The leader was pressured by the other Cemac Heads of State, and mainly by Beac Governor Abbas Mahamat Tolli, an outspoken opponent of the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender in CAR and the creation by the country of its cryptocurrency (Sango Coin).
"The Conference reaffirmed its commitment to the provisions of Article 6 of the Convention governing the Central African Monetary Union (Umac)," reads the final communiqué of the Yaoundé meeting, which cites Governor Abbas Mahamat Tolli's analysis of the impacts of crypto-currencies on Cemac economies.
A new law in the pipeline in CAR
According to the above-mentioned article, "the legal tender of the member states of the Union is the Central African Financial Cooperation Franc (CFA)”. This means that neither bitcoin nor Sango Coin should be legal tender in the Central African Republic (CAR). Although President Touadéra considers that "cryptocurrencies are new realities, which were not taken into account when these texts were formulated," he nevertheless announced that his country is "working to adjust the law on cryptocurrency”. A draft of the bill amending and supplementing certain provisions of the law of April 22, 2022, on cryptocurrency, was presented to the Ministerial Committee of Umac, on March 15 at the headquarters of the Beac in Yaoundé. Read More..
