The Central African Republic (CAR) is reportedly trying to legalize the use of cryptocurrencies. The latest development comes on the heels of initial reports that it would adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender. However, the central African country will only be regulating crypto usage, contrary to the adoption claims.
The CAR’s Minister of Digital Economy, Posts and Telecommunications, Justin Gourna Zacko, pushed the cryptocurrency regulation bill on April 21. According to reports, the bill gained unanimous approval from the parliament, despite the protest from opposition members.
The bill advocates for an enabling environment for the cryptocurrency sector in the country while highlighting remittance issues. Per the minister, crypto adoption will help the country resolve remittance challenges.
Furthermore, the bill will supposedly enable crypto exchange between traders and businesses. Tax payments could also be made to appropriate bodies using crypto.
The proposed law spells out punishments for offenders. Offenders could be jailed for up to 20 years and fined between 100,000,000 to 1,000,000,000 Financial Community of Africa (CFA).
Gloire, founder of Kiveclair, a Congo-based Bitcoin Beach-inspired refugee project, explained the import of the new bill as follows;
“The real implication for people is that they can now have access to currencies other than the FCFA (this is the local currency) while being protected by law, and transfer money at a lower cost. Above all, they can carry out financial transactions without banks (while being protected by law). ”
The Central African Republic, including 13 other African countries, use the Euro-pegged CFA Franc as an official currency. However, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been billed as a solution to address economic challenges.
Written by
SAMUEL IKPERU
