The Bank of Central African States, or Banque des États de l’Afrique, which serves Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo, could be closer to launching a digital currency of the central bank, reportedly at the behest of its board of directors.
According to a Friday report from Bloomberg, the council sent an email asking the regional bank to introduce a digital currency in an effort to modernize payment structures and promote regional financial inclusion. The Central African Republic, or CAR, passed legislation in April adopting Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender in the country, but has not recognized a central bank digital currency, or CBDC.
Nigeria’s central bank was one of the first in the region to launch a CBDC called eNaira in October 2021, while the South African Reserve Bank continues to explore the potential use of a CBDC through its Project Khokha initiative. The Bank of Central African States also criticized Nigeria’s acceptance of BTC as legal tender, calling the move “problematic” and something that could have a “substantial negative impact” on the Central African currency union.
Sub-Saharan African nations could face significant challenges in introducing cryptocurrencies and CBDCs in areas with limited access to electricity, both for transfers and mining. According to 2020 data from the World Bank, the CAR and Chad are among the lowest percentages of the population with access to electricity, at 15.5% and 11.1%, respectively.
Following its adoption of Bitcoin, RCA President Faustin-Archange Touadéra announced in June that the country would adopt a cryptocurrency initiative called the Sango project, which included a “legal crypto center” and a special economic zone in the metaverse. Africa remains one of the fastest growing digital asset markets in the world: Cointelegraph reported in March that cryptocurrency transactions had increased by as much as 2,670% year-on-year in Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Dakar.
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