Through a post on Twitter, Central African Republic (CAR) President, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, has sent an invitation for ‘everyone’ to attend a genesis event for Project Sango.
Genesis is a term that is commonly used in crypto to refer to the onset of a certain project or technology. Remember that a Genesis Block is the name given to the first block a cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin, ever mined. In January 2022, the crypto community marked the 13th anniversary milestone, 13 years since Satoshi Nakomoto mined the very first block of bitcoin transactions – now widely known as the Genesis block.
For Project Sango, the Government in CAR also sees it as something that will spur blockchain and crypto development there, and make CAR a key crypto hub on the African continent.
The project was started by the CAR National Assembly with support from President Faustin-Archange Touadéra. In addition to building a legal bitcoin and cryptocurrency hub recognized by parliament, Sango aims to:
- Take ‘the Bitcoin legacy to the next level’
- Institute a ‘cryptocurrency economic zone’ in the Sango Island where users will be able to propose, view, and contribute to its future developments
- ‘Facilitate land acquisition in bitcoin for investors worldwide’
- ‘Create a Digital National Bank’
- ‘Fully support’ access and ‘allocation of the country’s natural resources such as gold, diamonds, uranium, lithium, and oil to crypto projects’
- Build the Sango crypto island that will be declared a crypto economic zone and the first island in the metaverse backed by reality
However, the World Bank, which is listed as a funder for certain programs in the project, has come out against the project by the Central African Republic (CAR).
A representative for the Bank said:
“We have concerns regarding transparency as well as the potential implications for financial inclusion, the financial sector and public finance at large, in addition to environmental shortcomings.”
– Representative, World Bank
Central African Republic became the second country in the world to adopt bitcoin as official currency in April 2022.
