The Central African Republic (CAR) has announced plans to proceed with its ambitious Sango Project by tokenizing access to the country’s abundant natural resources. President Faustin-Archange Touadéra posted a photograph of a statement on his official Twitter account Thursday detailing the next steps in the project. The statement, signed by Minister of State and cabinet chief of staff Obed Namsio, read, in part: “We are giving everyone access to the riches of our land. In other words, we are transforming them into equally valuable and important digital assets through an unprecedented new administrative and economic movement.” It went on to …

A survey from digital payment company Block Inc. has found that the higher respondents rated their own level of cryptocurrency knowledge, the more optimistic they are about the future of Bitcoin (BTC). Block surveyed more than 9,500 people from the Americas (2,375), EMEA (4,360) and APAC (2,860) regions in January, ensuring to include 100 Bitcoin owners in each region for its 2022 Bitcoin Knowledge and Perceptions Report. The report, released on Tuesday, shows a correlation between optimism and the likelihood of purchasing, and compared the result with the respondent’s self-identified level of knowledge. Of those who identified as having fair …

With a 1,200% increase in received crypto volume between 2020 and 2021, the accelerated adoption of digital assets in Africa has captured the attention of multiple companies and organizations looking to take part in this growing market. Set to take place in June, the Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Awareness Tour (BCAT) is a Binance-powered ongoing awareness campaign that has been spreading knowledge and trying to cultivate a strong crypto community in Africa. By reaching out to university students, mostly in southeast Nigeria, the campaign hopes to increase crypto adoption among Nigerian youth, the predominant age group in the country. The main …

Financial inclusion, accessible services and the unbanked are standard talking points in many conversations about crypto. But, the details may remain somewhat fuzzy — the people who talk about crypto are generally those already inside the financial system. There are people who are actively working to increase financial inclusion and access to services for the vast number of people who are unbanked or underserved. CBDC for the people Central bank digital currencies (CBDC) will serve different purposes in different places. In economies where individuals have moved away from high levels of cash usage, like those of the United States and …

The World Bank has signaled its concerns over the Central African Republic (CAR) adopting Bitcoin (BTC) as a legal currency and says it won’t support the newly announced “Sango” crypto hub. At the end of April, CAR president Faustin-Archange Touadéra established a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency in the country and adopted Bitcoin as a legal tender. On May 24, he announced a plan to launch the country’s first crypto hub called “Sango.” Sango is described as the country’s first “crypto initiative” — a legal hub for crypto-related businesses encompassing economic policies including no corporate or income tax and the creation …

Shortly after approving Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender in the Central African Republic (CAR), the local government is moving to provide the digital currency infrastructure. CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadera took to Twitter on Tuesday to announce the upcoming launch of the country’s first major crypto initiative dubbed “Sango.” The creation of the CAR’s crypto hub comes soon after the National Assembly unanimously adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, Touadera noted. Following the unanimously adoption by the National Assembly of the #BTC legal tender status, we are pleased to showcase the first concrete initiative! It goes beyond politics&administration & has the potential …

As many in Africa continue to adopt crypto and blockchain, more venture funding flowed into the continent in Q1 2022 than in Q1 2021, according to a new report by blockchain investment firm Crypto Valley Venture Capital (CV VC) and Standard Bank. The report, titled “The African Blockchain Report 2021,” shows that blockchain startups were able to raise $91 million in the first quarter of 2022. Q1 2022 saw a 1,668% year-on-year increase in cash inflow compared with Q1 2021's growth of 149% — a jump of more than 11x, according to CV VC. While Africa has not yet seen …

East Africa is set to welcome a new cryptocurrency exchange backed by a formidable list of industry heavyweights looking to tap into a continent full of potential users. Coinbase Ventures, Alameda Research, Huobi Ventures and other prominent venture capital firms and angel investors have contributed $23 million to launch MARA. The exchange will initially operate in Kenya and Nigeria, offering new users a basic exchange platform to acquire, trade and withdraw cryptocurrencies. The platform will offer a professional exchange featuring extensive trading options and technical analysis tools for more experienced traders. Plans are in place to develop the MARA chain, …

Bitcoin (BTC) is for all. For you, for Michael Saylor in Miami, and for 38-year-old Jorge, a Mozambican family man who's using the largest cryptocurrency to make ends meet. Jorge, who goes by his first name for anonymity, lives in the tiny village of Bomba, Mozambique, on its southeast coast. Since the COVID-19 pandemic stripped away tourism from the sleepy surf town, one of Jorge’s primary wage earners—tourism—disappeared. Luckily, Bitcoin adoption is slowly swelling in Africa–from the Central African Republic across to Senegal and further north. Mozambique is also showing signs it's warming to the world's most popular crypto. Mozambique …

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is moving ahead with plans to upgrade the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) to be used on a wider range of goods and services. It is also maintaining harsh crypto restrictions that cripple the country’s fintech sector. The CBN branch controller Bariboloka Koyor spoke at a campaign aiming to “sensitize” businesses to the eNaira at a market in the country’s most populous city of Lagos on Monday, according to a report from Vanguard. Koyor stated: “Starting from next week, there is going to be an upgrade on the eNaira speed wallet app that …

The governor of the Bank of Central African States, or Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale (BEAC), has issued a scathing letter to the Central African Republic (CAR) regarding the country’s adoption of cryptocurrencies. In a letter addressed to the CAR Finance Minister Hervé Ndoba, governor of the BEAC Abbas Mahamat Tolli describes the “substantial negative impact” that the CAR adopting crypto will have on the monetary union of Central Africa. The CAR passed a bill announcing its intention to adopt cryptocurrencies in April. It is no surprise that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has already called the decision concerning. …

Top golfers from Africa and Europe will be eyeing lucrative Bitcoin (BTC) payouts at the end of the 2022 season after a new sponsorship of South Africa’s Sunshine Tour. The year-long season sees golfers compete for the top spot on Sunshine Tour’s overall leaderboard, the Order of Merit. Crypto platform Luno, which has a big footprint in South Africa and the wider African continent, has assumed the title sponsorship of the overall rankings. Money talks in sport but the language is certainly evolving, with Luno casting aside rand-based awards for the top golfers on the Order of Merit in favor …