The latest member nation to join the list of those that have declared Bitcoin as a legal tender is the Central African Republic. As per reports, the approximately 5 million citizens of CAR will now be able to use Bitcoin along with the franc as a legal tender in their country.
President Faustin-Archange Touadéra of the Central African Republic has, reportedly, enacted a law establishing a regulatory framework supporting the use of cryptocurrency in the country. This, alongside adopting Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender. Obed Namsio, the president’s chief of staff, remarked that the move aims to make the CAR the one setting the “boldest” example and the greatest “visionary” in the world.
With a GDP hovering around $2.4 billion, the CAR is a classified “repressed” economy according to the Heritage Foundation’s 2022 Index of Economic Freedom. It’s still uncertain what reactions the move will draw from the country’s residents and what effects will ensue.
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Previous reports on the CAR legalizing the crypto in the nation’s financial markets had no mention of adopting BTC as legal tender. The legislation was passed in what is reportedly a unanimous approval from the lawmakers. The crypto bill was introduced in the assembly by the country’s Minister of Digital Economy, Post, and Telecommunications Justin Gourna Zacko.
To summarize, the report should take the CAR one spot behind El Salvador which is the first country to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender. El Salvador created history in2021 passing legislation raising the status of Bitcoin from just a store of value to a legitimate unit of exchange in the country, defying criticisms from eminent economists. Very recently the IMF has also warned the nation of disastrous consequences unless Bitcoin is removed as a legal tender.
Politically, right after President Faustin-Archange Touadéra took charge in 2016, the country was perceived as altering its strategic alliances; moving away from the French to side with the Russians.
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On a disparate event, on the same continent, a multi-billionaire property dealer Hussein Sajwani of Dubai has started accepting BTC and ETH for his estate’s palatial abodes. This announcement may be seen as a marketing up-gamer after a couple of years’ underperformance of the brand’s real estate assets. The entrepreneur thanks Dubai’s crypto-friendly regulations that have turned the region effectively into a crypto-hub.
Both events are met with joyous reception within the crypto-community in the region and abroad. It’s only as this sector matures, does it finally flaunts its true colors in helping lift the regressive economy while performing as a primary and alternative currency.
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