20 February 2026
What was heralded as a bold move to modernize its economy and gain financial independence has largely unraveled in the Central African Republic, according to a new report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. 
Three years after adopting Bitcoin as legal tender and launching a string of digital currency projects, the nation’s cryptocurrency experiment is revealing the darker side of blockchain—opaque, vulnerable to criminal exploitation, and failing to deliver on its promises of inclusion and sovereignty.
In April 2022, the CAR became the first African country—and only the second globally—to recognize Bitcoin as legal currency. This was followed by the launch of the Sango Coin, a national digital currency backed by Bitcoin aimed at attracting investment in natural resources. However, by March 2023, pressure from regional and international bodies, including the Bank of Central African States and the IMF, led to the revocation of Bitcoin’s legal status, although the country continued to accept cryptocurrencies for payments. In 2025, the government introduced $CAR, a meme coin on the Solana blockchain, branding it as a symbol of national unity and development.
This rapid sequence of initiatives was driven less by economic necessity than by political motives. The government sought to bypass traditional banking constraints and establish financial channels less subject to external influence, especially amid ongoing sanctions and geopolitical complications involving Russia. Yet, the promised benefits of financial inclusion—reaching impoverished citizens with limited electricity, internet, or smartphones—remain unfulfilled. With just 15.7% electricity access and under 40% mobile coverage, ordinary citizens are effectively excluded from this digital revolution, which instead seems aimed at attracting foreign investors and illicit funds.
The report highlights a disturbing trend: the tokenization of national assets, including land, forests, and mineral rights. A 2023 law established a framework for converting these resources into tradable digital tokens, facilitating what the report calls “massive tokenizations” of land parcels and concessions, often with little oversight or transparency. Land deals, such as a 1,700-hectare tokenization in Lobaye with 99-year concessions, are executed via blockchain without proper identity verification or anti-money laundering safeguards. Such “fast” processes are susceptible to hosting illicit activities, including money laundering, sanctions evasion, and the transfer of toxic funds.
The report details the dubious credibility of the tokens’ documentation, with some property certificates possibly generated by artificial intelligence, and questions surrounding the lack of transparency in revenue collection—only minimal public income is reported from land sales, with no clear accounting. The launch of the $CAR token exemplifies the speculative risks: a major wallet linked to its anonymous developer bought nearly 80% of the total supply just before the token’s launch, exerting near-total control over its market. The token’s value plummeted by 85% shortly after launch, and the project’s official website went offline, casting doubt on its legitimacy.
The broader concern is the entanglement of politics, organized crime, and foreign influence. The report points to a network of shadow advisors, including figures linked to financial fraud and alleged ties to Moscow, who operate in a gray zone of influence and illicit activity. Despite warnings from regional anti-money laundering bodies, the CAR’s government has persisted with its crypto projects, exposing its financial system to risks of fraud, laundering, and opaque transactions that benefit only a select few.
Ultimately, the report warns that the CAR’s attempt to reconfigure core state functions—currency, land, and resource rights—through blockchain is faltering. Without robust regulation, transparent governance, and institutional strength, these initiatives threaten to deepen vulnerabilities rather than foster sovereignty. Blockchain, in this context, risks becoming a tool for predation rather than empowerment, turning territorial assets into speculative commodities susceptible to criminal capture and destabilization.
As the CAR’s experience illustrates, true sovereignty requires more than digital tokens and blockchain schemes; it demands a capable state, rule of law, and safeguards that ensure development benefits reach all citizens—not just elusive investors and criminal networks.
