Central African Republic Teases ‘Project Sango’ Creating Crypto Hub

Just a month after making Bitcoin legal tender, the Central African Republic (CAR) is teasing another crypto initiative dubbed ‘Project Sango’. It has gone as far as publishing online plans for a ‘crypto hub’ that will include a ‘crypto island’ and a digital wallet.

A May 23 post on the government’s official Facebook page referred users to a landing page at sango.org. Users were then requested to register for the waitlist and provided with a link to a 24-page online presentation with more detail regarding the planned initiative.

The president of CAR, Faustin-Archange Touadera, did not confirm the plans, but tweeted on the weekend with the hashtag #bitcoin that the next phase would be announced “very soon”:

First Government-Recognised Legal Crypto Hub

The Sango Project, according to the presentation, entails developing “the first legal crypto hub recognised by a country’s parliament”. The country’s ambitions also include establishing a Digital Nation Bank, allowing Bitcoin land sales, and constructing a crypto wallet.

Door Opened to Natural Resources

The presentation adds that the government will facilitate crypto enterprises’ access to natural resources such as gold, diamonds and uranium, as well as implement a “citizenship by investment” program with zero-rate income and company taxes.

This news is significant as the landlocked African nations rank among the least developed economies in the world, with agriculture being the largest contributor to their gross domestic product. According to figures from the World Bank, the CAR’s economic output stood at US$2.38 billion as of 2020 and the country ranks near the bottom of the United Nations’ Human Development Index.