Central African Republic teases 'Project Sango' crypto hub

Quick Take

  • After making bitcoin a legally recognized currency in April, the Central African Republic has published online plans for a “crypto hub.”
  • The plans, dubbed Project Sango, include a “crypto island” and a digital wallet.

A month after making bitcoin a legally recognized currency, the Central African Republic has unveiled plans to create a "crypto hub" to attract global crypto enthusiasts. 

The plans have been dubbed Project Sango, according to a post on the government's official Facebook page dated Monday that directed people to a landing page at sango.org. After registering for the waitlist, users were sent a link to a 24-page online presentation with further details on the proposed project.

There was no confirmation of the Facebook post on the Twitter account of Faustin-Archange Touadéra, CAR's president. Although he had tweeted on Saturday that "very soon we will announce the next planned phase" with the hashtag #bitcoin.

According to the presentation, which is filled with images of undulating skyscrapers and sailboat-dotted lakes, the Sango project involves creating "the first legal crypto hub recognized by a country's parliament." CAR's plans include founding a Digital Nation Bank, facilitating land purchases in bitcoin, and developing a crypto wallet.

The government will support crypto firms' access to natural resources such as gold, diamonds and uranium and institute a "citizenship by investment" program with zero-rate tax on income and businesses, according to the presentation. 

The landlocked African nation ranks among the least developed economies in the world with agriculture the largest contributor to its GDP. According to World Bank figures, CAR’s economic output stood at only $2.38 billion as of 2020 and the country ranks near the bottom of the United Nation’s Human Development Index.

Last month, CAR became the first African nation to adopt bitcoin as an official currency, alongside the France-backed CFA franc.

With reporting by Adam Morgan McCarthy and Osato Avan-Nomayo. 


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Andrew Rummer is executive editor for The Block Pro, based in London. He was previously managing editor at Bloomberg News and led special projects at Finimize. He has a degree in engineering from the University of Oxford. Follow him on Twitter at @AJRummer.
Kristin Majcher is a senior correspondent at The Block, based in Colombia. She covers the Latin America market. Before joining, she worked as a freelancer with bylines in Fortune, Condé Nast Traveler and MIT Technology Review among other publications.