The Central African Republic Unveils Sango Project, Disappoints The World

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The Sango Genesis Event was revealing. Apparently, the Central African Republic president is as confused as MiamiCoin Mayor Francis Suarez and New York Mayor Eric Adams. Both of them got elected under a bitcoin platform and changed tune pretty quickly. President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, for his part, seemed to understand the mathematical miracle that bitcoin is, and made it legal tender in the CAR. Only to launch his own coin a couple of months later.

Unfortunately, the Sango project turned out to be a hodgepodge of buzzwords and half-cooked ideas. The Central African Republic swang for the fences and stroke out tremendously. They launched a coin, a metaverse project, an actual crypto island, and they want to tokenize everything under the sun. The self-described “Sango crypto hub initiative” tries to be everything, everywhere, all at once. 

Sango Coin And The Crypto Island

President Faustin-Archange Touadéra presented the Central African Republic’s own cryptocurrency with the vapid words, “Sango Coin will be the next-generation currency for Central African Republic.” Why would they need that if bitcoin is already legal tender? To add to the confusion, Sango Coin will be backed by bitcoin. They didn’t explain how that would work exactly. Or what happened to UST/ Luna, the last project to use an unstable asset like bitcoin as a reserve.

Besides that, the Central African Republic promised a clear crypto regulation and announced that they plan to tokenize the country’s natural resources. Why would they need a blockchain for that? “There are diamonds all over the country. Iron, copper, coltan, lithium, cobalt, and other strategic minerals which are today known and identified,” claimed the President at the Sango Genesis Event. What real-world rights to those minerals would an entry into a blockchain entail? 

A slightly more sensible plan, the CAR plans to digitize the country’s land registry system and leverage blockchain technology to do so. They could do it more efficiently with a centralized database, though, since registry is uniquely a governmental affair. Even more confusing than the tokenized commodities, project Sango promises “the only metaverse backed by reality.” “The Crypto Island” will be both a metaverse project and a real place by the Oubangui River.

BTC price chart for 07/04/2022 on Coinbase | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com

Vague Language And Tokenized Everything

“With Bitcoin as legal tender & inspiration, our country opens a new chapter in its inspiring journey towards a brighter future via blockchain tech,” tweeted President Faustin-Archange Touadéra inviting everyone to his July 3rd event. He used the same vague language that plagues the Central African Republic’s bitcoin law. And now we know why.

“Gold served as the engine of our civilization for ages! In this new age, digital gold will serve the same for the future! Sango Project is the foundation that we will build on, together as one!,” the President also tweeted. Great attitude. Bad foundation. “Coinbase backed Mara is advising the CAR. Keep the wrong company and you’ll be steered in the wrong direction,” revealed nation-state adoption expert Samson Mow.

“The citizens will gain at every level, they will live in a country in full economic development, which means employment and prosperity,” promised the President mere minutes after losing all of his credibility. Only to then drop his truth bomb and gain some of it back, “For us, the formal economy is no longer an option.”

Featured Image: President Touadéra screenshot from the video | Charts by TradingView

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