Just over 2 years after adopting Bitcoin as legal currency, the Central African Republic (CAR) has reportedly launched a memecoin project ($CAR) to explore its potential impact on national development.
Central African Republic Reportedly Moves to Adopt Bitcoin as Official Currency https://t.co/H8mDpLmNVM via @BitcoinKE
— RareBirdsHQ™ (@RareBirdsHQ_) April 26, 2022
President Faustin-Archange Touadéra announced the launch on X, calling it an experiment to demonstrate how a meme-based asset can unite people, drive economic growth, and enhance the country’s global standing.
Today, we are launching $CAR – an experiment designed to show how something as simple as a meme can unite people, support national development, and put the Central African Republic on the world stage in a unique way.
Contract: 7oBYdEhV4GkXC19ZfgAvXpJWp2Rn9pm1Bx2cVNxFpump
— Faustin-Archange Touadéra (@FA_Touadera) February 9, 2025
A video announcement reinforced the government’s commitment to fostering a strong community around the project.
“As the second president in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, I have always recognized the potential of crypto and its benefits on a global scale,” Touadéra says in the video.
The memecoin launched on the Solana platform, Pump.Fun, and has a total supply of 1 billion tokens, with the top four holders controlling around 76% of the supply, according to on-chain data.
Independent crypto investigator, Stephen Findeisen, known as CoffeeZilla, noted that the token’s structure resembles that of the TRUMP coin, a memecoin tied to U.S. President, Donald Trump.
Data from DexScreener shows that CAR’s market cap soared above $500 million shortly after its launch, though it has since fallen to $284 million. Coinbase Director, Conor Grogan, pointed out that the memecoin’s market cap had already reached 20% of CAR’s 2023 GDP of $2.56 billion.
If the token hits $2.50, it would match the entire country’s economic output, sparking widespread discussions on its potential impact.
Despite government support, the memecoin has faced significant scrutiny from the crypto community, with allegations that the video by President Touadéra was a deepfake. Shortly after its launch, the project’s X account was suspended, raising concerns about transparency.
President Touadéra reassured supporters that efforts were being made to restore the account.
“We are working with @X to get @CARMeme_News back as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the token supply has been securely locked through @streamflow_fi , according to the distribution plan, emission groups, and release schedule detailed on our website,” Touadéra said.
“We’re pleased to let you know that our new @X account, @CARMemecoinNews and domain, carmemecoin.com are now live,” he added a few hours later.
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