World: Following El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal currency, the Central African Republic has also become a second country to adopt Bitcoin as a legal currency.
As per the sources, the central African country’s legislators unanimously adopted a bill to make Bitcoin a legal tender alongside its CFA franc and legalised the use of cryptocurrencies.
President of the Central African Republic Faustin Archange Touadera signed the bill presented by legislators, the chief of staff Obed Namsio stated in a statement.
According to Namsio, the Central African Republic is the first African country to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender.
He also went on to say, “This initiative places the Central African Republic on the map of the world’s boldest and most innovative nations.”
The new law will cover the usage of cryptocurrencies and those individuals who use them in online trade, ” smart contracts by blockchain technology”, and “all online transactions”. It is also added that digital currencies are not liable to tax.
However, an ex- Prime Minister of CAR, Martin Ziguele, who is currently an opposition MP, complained that the law went into effect by proclamation whilst some lawmakers intend to file a lawsuit against it at the Constitutional Court.
Some people are very cautious about the move due to the volatility of cryptocurrencies.
Moreover, regulators worldwide share the same concerns regarding cryptocurrencies. Some people also consider that the transfer of digital currencies is a perfect tool for traffickers, terrorists and money laundering as they can be anonymised.
Although many countries have banned crypto transactions, including India, El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender last September.
But the move to approve Bitcoin as legal tender was heavily slammed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“The adoption of crypto as legal tender entails large risks for financial and market integrity, financial stability and consumer safety,” warned IMF.