Central African Republic (CAR): Bitcoin now legal tender

• 27 April 2022: CAR, one of the world"s poorest countries, has adopted a bill to make Bitcoin legal tender alongside the "˜CFA franc" which is shared with five neighboring countries (TRT World, 28 April 2022). This is the second country in the world after El Salvador to take this step. Although this move is seen as bold and visionary by some, including the country"s leaders, there is also fear that it could cause a devaluation of the CFA franc as well as reduce government tax revenue since crypto currency transactions are not covered under country tax laws (The Africa Report, 29 April 2022).
• 29 April 2022: Rebels belonging to the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC) killed six government troops in an attack on a military outpost on the outskirts of the south-eastern town of Bakouma (Al-Jazeera, 29 April 2022).

World Watch Research analyst Yonas Dembele comments: "The CPC have been fighting government forces (the latter supported by UN, Russian and Rwandan troops) to overturn the outcome of the December 2020 election that saw President Touadĩra win a second term. This rebel force could potentially benefit from the Bitcoin initiative." Yonas Dembele explains: "According to the IMF, making a crypto-currency legal tender could lead to serious financial instability, especially as CAR is already an impoverished country (France24, 27 April 2022). With Internet coverage at only just over 11% (Internet World Stats, December 2021), there are doubts whether the introduction of Bitcoin will benefit the population. It is more than likely that it will instead benefit illegal trafficking in arms and minerals with rebel entities and with countries looking for ways to avoid sanctions, e.g. Russia (CNBC, 28 April 2022). Not being controlled by a central bank, the fear is that Bitcoin will be open to abuse by Organized crime and further destabilize the region, much to the detriment of Christian communities both inside and outside CAR."