Less than a month ago, the Central African Republic announced that Bitcoin has become legal money in the country. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was not exactly happy about this, but the African country doesn’t care about that. The Central African Republic is going one step further and is now working on a “crypto island.”
Crypto hub in the middle of nowhere
If you’ve been wondering where the Central African Republic is, you’re not alone. It is located between Chad and Congo. It’s very poor and only 11% have internet access. An internet connection is important to 99% of cryptocurrencies. According to critics, the majority of the population is not even aware of the existence of crypto. According to many entrepreneurs in the country, there would be more pressing problems, such as access to drinking water, energy sources, good roads and sufficient safety.
Yet President Faustin-Archange Touadera optimistic about crypto on Twitter† The government plans to give an island a special status, where there will be no sales tax for businesses and income tax for individuals. The crypto island gets the name Sango and has even a website and an associated brochure†
It goes around a physical island, although it is unclear exactly where it is. The country is teeming with rivers and is also home to a number of islands in these rivers. There are also said to be plans for a metaverse version of Sango to become the first digital copy of a real place. The country is also working on a crypto wallet.
Ambitious crypto plans despite criticism
Sango is clearly an ambitious plan that aims to bring innovation to the country. A global crypto hub could bring many high paying jobs and development to the poor country. However, it will have to compete with other crypto hubs, including in the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Switzerland. So a big job.
The IMF has been just as tough on the Central African Republic as it has been on El Salvador. The organization threatens to end its support of the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) currency if countries continue to accept cryptos such as bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender (legal money). The luxury and scale will undoubtedly make the IMF even more skeptical. But that hasn’t stopped this African country either.