Central African Republic becomes second country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender (2024)

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Central African Republic becomes second country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender? ›

The Central African Republic has become the second country in the world to adopt bitcoin as official currency, after El Salvador took the same step last year. Lawmakers in the CAR's parliament voted unanimously to pass a bill legalizing bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, according to a statement from the presidency.

If crypto assets are held or accepted by the government as means of payment, it could put public finances at risk. The Central African Republic is the first country in Africa, and the second in the world after El Salvador to designate Bitcoin as a legal tender.

El Salvador became the first country to make bitcoin legal tender; not only must bitcoin be accepted as a means of payment for taxes and debts, but also businesses are required to accept bitcoin as a medium of exchange.

In April 2022, the mineral-rich African country became the first on the continent and second in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender, following in the footsteps of El Salvador.

Only two countries in the world that believe Bitcoin to be a genuine legal tender. The first is El Salvador. The second is the Central African Republic. It adopted Bitcoin as a legal tender in the second quarter of 2022.

The Central African Republic's decision to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender came as a surprise to many, but the government argues that it will secure an independent financial future for the country, as the BBC's Damian Zane and Guy Bandolo report.

The Central African Republic (CAR) has approved Bitcoin as legal tender - just the second country to do so. CAR is one of the world's poorest countries, but is rich in diamonds, gold and uranium.

In 2021, El Salvador made waves by becoming the first country to make bitcoin legal tender (residents can pay taxes and settle debts with it), though less than 15 percent of people had used it for that purpose in 2023, according to a poll by Central American University.

El Salvador Adopted Bitcoin as an Official Currency; Salvadorans Mostly Shrugged. In an effort to boost financial inclusion, El Salvador made Bitcoin an official currency and offered incentives for adopting it.

As of March 2024, bitcoin was legal in the U.S., Japan, the U.K., and most other developed countries. In general, it is necessary to look at laws in specific countries. In the U.S., the IRS considers bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies property, issuing appropriate tax treatment guidelines for taxpayers.

Can Africans buy Bitcoin? ›

To purchase cryptocurrency through African Bank, you can use standard payment systems including VISA, Mastercard, Skrill etc. If you are South African or you are now in South Africa, you have an opportunity to use real debit and credit cards of Mastercard and VISA payment systems.

Ghana, Lesotho, and Sierra Leone has bans, as do Egypt, Libya, and Morocco. In Latin America, Bolivia's Financial System Supervision Authority issued a resolution in 2014 prohibiting the use of Bitcoin and other digital currencies, citing a lack of consumer protection and the potential for money laundering.

The XAF (Central African CFA Franc) is the official currency of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. The XAF is backed by the French treasury and pegged to the euro.

India: Over 100 million people in India own cryptocurrencies, making it the country with the most cryptocurrency owners, according to Triple-A. United States: China, Russia, Nigeria, and the EU are the next five countries with the most #BTC trading volume on exchanges.

Cryptocurrency mining supports an efficient mechanism for distributing digital rewards. Miners who successfully add blocks to a blockchain automatically receive transaction processing fees and new digital tokens.

While cryptocurrency is banned in mainland China and there are strict controls on capital movement across the border, people are still able to trade tokens such as bitcoin on crypto exchanges such as OKX and Binance, or through other over-the-counter channels.

El Salvador took a different path toward digital payments. In 2021, in order to promote financial inclusion and job creation and facilitate remittances, it became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender.

Nigerians are one of the major global users of cryptocurrencies. Is cryptocurrency legal in Nigeria? There is no definite answer, as the CBN declared and instructed commercial banks to desist from cryptocurrency transactions. But there was no [ban] on crypto use and activity.

Synopsis. The government of President Nayib Bukele took this pioneering step in 2021, introducing bitcoin in circulation alongside the US dollar, which replaced the Salvadoran colon in 2001.

In September 2021, El Salvador became the first country to make bitcoin legal tender, requiring all businesses to accept the cryptocurrency. In an attempt to popularize and regularize its use, the government gave citizens financial incentives to download a special cryptocurrency app.