The World Bank expressed concern over the Central African Republic’s (CAR) acceptance of Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender and said it would not support the Sango crypto hub.
The plan to create a major investment hub in the Central African Republic (CAR) after adopting Bitcoin as legal tender has sparked outrage from the World Bank, Bloomberg writes.
Recall that at the end of April, the National Assembly of the CAR accepted BTC as a legitimate means of payment and established a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency in the country. Recently, the President of the Central African Republic Faustin-Archange Touadéra announced a plan to launch the country’s first legal crypto hub called Sango.
Representatives of the World Bank voiced extreme concern about it. The agency believes that by legalizing Bitcoin, the Central African Republic violated a ten-year agreement to share a common currency within the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). The regulator quickly remembered that the region’s monetary rules require prior consultation and approval to change the monetary policy, which the Central African government neglected to do. Analysts at the World Bank argue that the lack of transparency in digital payments and transfers through BTC will have a negative impact on financial inclusion.
An official document describing the new Sango project says the CAR “received approval for a $35 million development fund from the World Bank for the digitalization of the public sector.” However, World Bank officials claim that the grant approved by the World Bank is “not related to any cryptocurrency initiative” and that they do not support Sango, adding that it would be “physically impossible” for them to fund the project.
