Central African Republic’s digital coin finds minimal buyers

Last updated on July 31st, 2022 at 07:32 am

Just over 5 percent of the objective was purchased in the first few hours of the sale of the Central African Republic’s first digital token, prompting concerns about the project’s transparency and an overall decline in the sector.

One of the world’s poorest nations, the Central African Republic (CAR), became the first state in Africa to recognize bitcoin as legal tender in April, confounding many cryptocurrency specialists and causing the International Monetary Fund to caution that it was not a “panacea” for Africa’s problems.

The war-torn, mineral-rich nation will advance towards a better future, according to the government, with the help of its digital coin project. Despite the fact that the price of such assets has fallen this year, it plans to raise up to $1 billion over the coming year through the sale of its Sango Coin, according to its investment website.

After going on sale at 1700 GMT on Monday, about $1.09 million of the initial $21 million offered had been sold by 11:15 GMT on Tuesday.

According to Joseph Edwards, head of financial strategy at the cryptocurrency investment company Solrise, “a crypto project not selling out its initial mint is a poor omen.”

The purposefully cryptic structure of the entire coin and initiative makes it difficult to get a clear grasp on things.

What exchanges it will be listed on when the sales are over and how the money will be spent are among the details that are still up in the air.

The Central African CFA Franc continues to be the official currency of CAR.

Sango Coin lacked what many crypto aficionados consider to be one of the assets’ key advantages—a lack of state participation, according to another representative of the industry.

She claimed, denying having to give her name, “They’re constructing something that is literally controlled by the government.”

Investors were optimistic about the Sango Coin’s potential when they purchased it with a minimum investment of $100 paid in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and USDT—down from a planned minimum of $500 on Sunday.

Michel Muna, a 35-year-old Cameroonian who imports food and drink, said of the CAR’s promise to “tokenize” its mineral wealth, “Sango is backed by the potential of its natural (resources).”

Muna, who invested $524 in Sango Coin, wrote on Telegram that “Sango marks the beginning of the rise of the African continent.”