The Central African Republic has reportedly become Africa’s first country (and the world’s second) country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender. In theory, this means you can pay for any goods and services in the Central African Republic (C.A.R.) using Bitcoin- but just like with Mobile Money or credit and debit bank cards, this will depend on whether the service provider has the right infrastructure to accept it. 

In a move spearheaded by the country’s Minister of Digital Economy, and Telecommunications, Gourna Zacko along with Calixte Nganongo, the Minister Of Finance and Budget, the Central African Republic drafted a law that sets a framework for cryptocurrency regulation and the adoption of Bitcoin as an official currency. 

C.A.R. opted for Bitcoin with their National Assembly unanimously passing a bill to have the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency as legal tender. Despite their initial opposition to the initiative, the legislative organizations Mouvement Coeurs Unis (MCU) and Mouvement National des Indépendants (MOUNI) voted in favour of passing the bill in order to promote the nation’s greatest interests, which include prosperity and stability.

Samson Mow, former chief strategy officer of Blockstream, noted the Central African Republic’s Bitcoin adoption on Twitter and said it was “another domino.”

Out of the 6 countries that use the Central African Franc (XAF), 4 are now actively on the journey into digital currencies and this will provide an interesting opportunity to watch how the financial and trading environments will evolve in the region as other countries within the Central African region are reported to be exploring localized stablecoins as the digital currency.   

It is also essential to keep an eye on how this Bitcoin adoption will unfold given the case study of El Salvador as the first country to adopt the currency as legal tender in the world. Since its adoption of Bitcoin in September 2021, El Salvador has seen a number of speed bumps including network issues and pushback from the International Monetary Fund and having observed these, C.A.R. hopes to achieve a smoother adoption. 

Cryptocurrency trader Michaël van de Poppe noted that governmental Bitcoin adoption is “growing” after the African nation announced its adoption of Bitcoin. 

With a relatively small 2020 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about $2.303 billion (when Uganda had $37.37 billion and Kenya had $98.88 billion), this endeavour may radically revolutionize the C.A.R’s digital infrastructure by incorporating the blockchain technological innovation required to give people a chance to tap into the cryptocurrency space. 

As an explosive field that is increasingly becoming popular with the world’s largest financial players and investors, the world of cryptocurrencies can provide a new, cutting-edge path of development and economic performance for the nation that is looking to bounce back from the effects of the pandemic.