A “vote by acclamation” in the National Assembly was enough on Tuesday, April 26, for the Central African Republic outdated the incorrigible CFA franc and erected bitcoin – virtual currency – as the second official currency. “Professor” Touadéra, President of the Republic since 2016, celebrated this continental premiere conducive to new opportunities
.
Opaque system
Opaque, decentralized, unregulated: bitcoin offers tempting options for an executive embroiled in corruption. Exempted from banking authorization, the participants validate each transaction.
Clever double blow for Faustin-Archange Touadéra, which revives the ire against the CFA franc and France, fueled by Russian disinformation since the military operation Sangaris (2013-2016) and above all, generalizes payments that are difficult to trace, in assets convertible into international currencies.
Windfall for the Wagner Group
A boon for the cadres of the Russian Wagner militia whose assets were frozen by the EU in December 2021. Since 2016, Touadéra has enriched them, in particular through mining contracts (gold, diamonds, etc.). In 2020, they protected him from armed groups occupying two-thirds of the country.
The context, with systemic corruption and a Russian partner under international sanctions, raises suspicion
, summarizes Thierry Vircoulon, specialist in Central Africa.
The generalization of bitcoin would also require computer and electrical resources galore. However, in CAR, 30% of the population has electricity. Another downside of this cryptocurrency, its prices: real roller coasters. By 2021, after surging more than 150%, they had plummeted by 30%.
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