Regional central bank hampers the Central African Republic’s Bitcoin ambitions

What 

The Central African Republic (CAR) is facing kickback from the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), the regional central bank, after its unexpected decision in April to adopt Bitcoin as legal currency 

Why 

The BEAC says its decision to prevent banks to partner with any payment platform that transacts in cryptocurrencies is to ensure financial stability in the region

What next 

The CAR shares the CFA franc as legal tender with six other African countries. The regional currency is governed by the BEAC, who broke its initial silence on the CAR’s Bitcoin development with a statement detailing its concerns

The story 

By adopting Bitcoin as legal currency last month, the government of the Central African Republic has broken a decades-old agreement to share a common currency with neighbour states, the BEAC said. 

This follows the CAR becoming only the second country in the world after El Salvador to declare Bitcoin legal tender. The decision by the CAR government seemed to have been pushed through without first getting input from the regulator.

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