Tokenization of Land Resources Decrypting the ‘Cryptocurrency Economy’ in the Central African Republic

Tokenizing Land Resources Decrypting the Cryptocurrency Economy in the Central African Republic

Author: Mia, Chaincatcher

Recently, the team behind the Sango project, which aims to create a “Cryptocurrency Center” in the Central African Republic (CAR), announced on its official media that the country’s legislative body has passed the “Tokenisation Law”, approving the tokenization of land and natural resources. The Sango team stated that once licensed, businesses will be able to tokenize operations related to agriculture, real estate, natural resources, and more on the Sango platform using blockchain technology.

Since the launch of the national cryptocurrency Sango Coin, the process of asset tokenization in the Central African Republic has been underway for a year, making it one of the most crypto-friendly countries in the underdeveloped regions of the world and one of the most active regions for cryptocurrency innovation.

The Second “El Salvador” in Africa

In fact, the President of the Central African Republic, as a loyal “believer” in Bitcoin, has always supported and promoted the use of Bitcoin. In April of last year, he announced the adoption of Bitcoin as the legal currency, accepting cryptocurrency payments for tax obligations. In addition, a legal framework was established to regulate the use of cryptocurrencies, making the Central African Republic the second country, after El Salvador, to officially adopt Bitcoin as legal tender and the first country in Africa to use Bitcoin as a payment currency.

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Shortly after that, the Central African Republic officially launched the “Cryptocurrency Center” plan, Project Sango, in May of last year, to attract crypto enthusiasts from around the world. The plan includes a crypto island and a digital wallet. With the launch of the Project Sango plan, the tokenization of access rights to natural resources also began. The Central African Republic plans to tokenize mining rights to mineral resources as part of its crypto and digital asset projects in the country, and the tokenization of land and natural resources is a further deepening of this asset tokenization.

Obstacles in the Progress

However, ideals are often full, and reality is excessively harsh. The President of the Central African Republic, who has always adhered to the belief that “Bitcoin is a superior currency in a better world,” has encountered obstacles in the global promotion of Bitcoin, just like the Prime Minister of El Salvador.

The International Monetary Fund openly expressed concerns about their adoption of Bitcoin. The Central African Republic’s president received a letter from the Central Bank of the French African colonies, stating that the adoption of Bitcoin would have “significant negative impacts” on the CFA franc system. The Central African banking regulatory authority also declared that the ban on cryptocurrencies remains in effect. The World Bank also stated that it would not support their so-called “Sango” crypto plan.

However, the cold reception from international organizations has not dampened CAR’s enthusiasm. Instead, they position themselves as pioneers in the adoption of cryptocurrencies and strive to overcome all obstacles.

Launch of National Cryptocurrency Sango Coin

“If everyone is not optimistic about Bitcoin, then I will issue my own national cryptocurrency.”

Last July, the Central African Republic (CAR) took a “defiant” attitude and hoisted the banner of “cryptocurrency economy country” by launching the public sale of CAR’s national cryptocurrency, Sango Coin. It is reported that Sango is deployed on the Bitcoin sidechain, similar to Blockstream’s Liquid Network. The main advantage of sidechains is that they can access the full liquidity of Bitcoin. The sidechain interacts directly with the Bitcoin main chain and allows users to bridge transactions directly from Sango Coin to the Bitcoin main chain.

The Genesis stage of Sango Coin was sold at a price of $0.1, with a minimum participation amount of $500. According to detailed information on the Sango project website, the total supply of Sango Coin is 21 billion. In addition to the Genesis stage, token sales are divided into 12 cycles, spanning 1 year, with prices increasing in each cycle. The final sale price is $0.45.

In addition, CAR has empowered Sango Coin in various ways. For example, investors can obtain citizenship and enjoy citizen rights by purchasing and pledging $60,000 worth of Sango Coin. Alternatively, they can obtain a three-year “electronic residency” in the Republic for $6,000. Another option is to obtain the country’s land and property through pledging $10,000 worth of Sango Coin for a fixed mortgage period of 10 years.

However, two months after the start of the token ICO, the Constitutional Court of the Central African Republic ruled that using tokens to purchase land and citizenship is unconstitutional. In addition, in March of this year, the National Parliament of the Central African Republic announced that Bitcoin will no longer be considered legal tender and will be replaced by the benchmark cryptocurrency.

Exploring the Tokenization of Natural Resources

One year later, when we look back at the ICO of Sango Coin, the local response is also minimal. Although two billion Sango Coins were sold during the Genesis stage at a price of $0.1, the government sold less than 800 tokens to local citizens, with more tokens being purchased by outsiders. The tokenization of land and natural resources is also built on Project Sango.

Currently, according to its official announcement, the law regarding the tokenization of land and natural resources has received “unanimous approval.” Other provisions of this law include making it possible to obtain business visas online and allowing citizens and foreigners to “easily” start businesses and obtain real estate, agricultural, natural resource extraction, and forestry permits. However, from the market performance, this news has not yet attracted widespread attention at the societal level.

Summary

In fact, the use of cryptocurrencies in underdeveloped regions has always been suppressed by developed countries. Influenced by historical factors, including the 14 African Financial Community (CFA) countries, including the Central African Republic, they use the CFA franc printed by France, which greatly affects the economic development and trade of Central African countries.

Just as El Salvador adopts Bitcoin as legal tender, El Salvador is exploring a method to break free from the control of the US dollar and dilute its market share. The launch of the national cryptocurrency Sango Coin by CAR is also seeking a way to resist the dominance of the franc in the CFA. The tokenization of land and natural resources is also an exploration to break free from the control of the franc.

As we all know, “decentralization” in the crypto world is a resistance against centralized power. The emergence of blockchain technology provides new technological weapons for weak countries to resist the economic domination of hegemonic nations. Cryptocurrencies and the tokenization of resources have become powerful tools to break this inequality. If the tokenization of land and natural resources is successfully implemented, citizens and foreigners will be able to establish businesses and obtain real estate, agricultural, natural resource extraction, and forestry licenses within the Central African Republic without being restricted by the franc. The vast natural resources will be better utilized and transformed into a driving force for socio-economic development.

All innovation and exploration are accompanied by setbacks and failures. The path of encryption in the Central African Republic is destined to be filled with obstacles, but it also carries the dream of truly achieving “decentralization” and freedom. With continuous trial and error and new attempts, perhaps in the future, the Central African Republic will become a truly “crypto economy” and a free nation. We will wait and see.