High Court of the Central African Republic has ruled that the government-backed cryptocurrency used for buying can be used. “e-residency” or citizenship and land goes against the country’s constitution.
The Central African Republic’s Constitutional Court on Monday determined that the purchase of citizenship, “e-residency” and land using a crypto coin that the government launched last month was unconstitutional.
The court held that nationality is not marketable, but residency is.
On July 25, the Central African Republic rolled out the launch and sales of its national cryptocurrency called “Sango Coin”.
The sales of national digital currency tokens started with a low tone. Only 5% of the target was bought within the first hour of its launch.
The slow start raised questions about the viability and sustainability of this project in a war-torn, poorly connected country.
The Sango Coin project would have let foreign investors buy citizenship for $60,000 worth of crypto — with the equivalent Sango Coins held as collateral for five years and “e-residency” for $6,000, held for three years, the Sango initiative stated.
In addition, the initiative listed a 250-metre plot of land at $10,000. It also included the Sango Coins equal to the amount of $10,000 that were kept for a decade.
Yesterday’s ruling by the country’s highest court was that such purchases are not constitutional. It noted among other things that nationality doesn’t have a market value, and that residency requires that one stays in the Central African Republic.
Bitcoin Provokes Regional Backlash
After El Salvador, the Central African Republic adopted Bitcoin as its official currency in April.
CAR, one the poorest countries in the world, decided to legalize Bitcoin. This raised eyebrows among crypto-experts and caused the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to warn that Bitcoin adoption as legal currency raises significant legal, transparency and economic policy issues.
The Bank of Central African States (BEAC), the Regional Central Bank of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) urged the Central African Republic not to implement the late April law making Bitcoin legal tender. The Central bank warned the Central African Republic that this move was against its rules and could impact monetary stability in the region.
Faustin Archange Touadera the President of Central African Republic called it a decisive step towards opening up new opportunities. The President said that cryptocurrency can be used to encourage financial inclusion in one among the poorest countries on the planet.
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