Central African Republic makes Bitcoin its new legal tender

The office of the President of the Central African Republic announced that the country’s legislators unanimously voted to adopt the world’s most popular cryptocurrency – Bitcoin – as a legal tender, alongside the country’s traditional currency, the CFA franc, and CAR President has signed the proposed measure into law.

New law also legalizes the use of digital currencies and makes cryptocurrency exchanges exempt from tax.

According to the statement issued by the president’s office, new law “places the Central African Republic on the map of the world’s boldest and most visionary countries.”

The opposition, however, disagreed, saying that the law is aimed at undermining the regional currency that’s backed by France and pegged to the euro.

The CFA (Communauté financière d’Afrique or African Financial Community) franc is shared by the Central African Republic, Cameroon, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

Central America’s El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal currency in September, 2021.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) criticized the move, citing “large risks for financial stability” stemming from price volatility of the digital coin.

A recent survey carried out by the US-based National Bureau of Economic Research found that the usage of Bitcoin for everyday transactions in El Salvador remains low and that it is mostly used by the educated, young, and male population.

source: eturbonews.com