The new law allows investors to acquire assets such as land and mining concessions using cryptocurrencies. It follows the adoption of Bitcoin as a legal tender in the country and the launch of a national cryptocurrency called Sango coin.

In the Central African Republic, the National Assembly passed, on Monday, May 29 a bill on the "tokenization" of natural resources, which allows investors to acquire assets such as land and mining concessions using cryptocurrencies.

The approval follows the adoption, in April 2022, of Bitcoin as a legal tender in the country and the launch of a national cryptocurrency (Sango Coin) a few months later. The new law "sets the framework for the use of bitcoin and Sango virtual currencies in the investment process, including by foreign nationals wishing to invest in mining, agrarian and forestry titles,” the bill reads. states

The bill adds that investors who purchase these titles "have the right to transfer all accruing annual profits abroad once they pay taxes and various duties.” 

"The bill complements the law on cryptocurrencies and, by streamlining [the process], it makes it easy to raise funds for [...] the State [...] and local communities,” explained Guy Samuel Nganatoua, Chairman of the National Assembly's Economy and Finance Committee.

In July 2022, Central African President Faustin-Archange Touadéra announced that Sango coin would catalyze the tokenization of the country’s vast natural resources.  

The bill that tokenizes natural resources is not supported by everyone, however. Opposition MPs on the joint commission boycotted the plenary session during which the bill was reviewed. They accused the government of facilitating the sales of the country’s natural resources to “mobs” instead of focusing on improving control to better capture revenues from those vital economic sectors. 

In August 2022, the constitutional court ruled that it was “unconstitutional” to buy citizenship, e-residency, land, and natural resources in the country using Sango Coin. But, in October 2022, the president of this court, who also invalidated the presidential decrees setting up a committee to draft a new constitution, was nevertheless retired by an order of the Minister of Public Service.

Sango coin, whose launch coincided with the collapse of the global cryptocurrency market, has so far failed to attract much investor interest. The project also attracted criticisms from the IMF, the World Bank, and even the regional central bank (BEAC). 

Critics deem the project unrealistic in a country where internet penetration is around 11% and the electrification rate is just 14.3%.