Central African Republic

**Report on the Current Status of Retail Trading in Cryptocurrencies in the Central African Republic**

**Date:** 2025-06-26
**Topic:** Retail_Trading_Status
**Description:** Assess whether individual citizens and residents in the country are legally permitted to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies. Detail the regulatory environment surrounding this activity.

**1. Identified Current Status:** Allowed-UnRegulated

**2. Detailed Narrative Explanation:**

Retail cryptocurrency trading in the Central African Republic (CAR) is legally allowed but operates in an unregulated environment, characterized by a lack of specific national rules for licensing, consumer protection, and oversight, and is further complicated by restrictive regional banking policies.

**Legal Foundation:** The current legal position is defined by Law No. 23.005, enacted on March 23, 2023. This law amended the groundbreaking but controversial 2022 Bitcoin law. The 2023 amendment explicitly repealed Bitcoin's status as legal tender and removed the obligation for merchants to accept it. However, it crucially states: "All economic agents are free to accept cryptocurrencies as a form of payment." This provision legally permits individuals and businesses to engage in crypto transactions on a voluntary basis, placing the activity in an "Allowed" category. No subsequent national law has established a comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto assets, resulting in an "UnRegulated" status.

**Historical Context and Regional Conflict:** The CAR's initial adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender in April 2022 (Law No. 22.004) was met with immediate opposition from the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) and the Banking Commission of Central Africa (COBAC). COBAC's Decision D-2022/071, issued in May 2022, prohibits all financial institutions within the CEMAC monetary union from holding, exchanging, or settling crypto transactions. This ban remains in force and creates a significant operational barrier, effectively preventing the use of local bank accounts for crypto trading. While the national government has retreated from its legal tender stance to appease regional bodies, it maintains a permissive national policy.

**Government Initiatives and Setbacks:** The government continues to promote blockchain technology through its "Sango" project, which includes a national digital currency and plans to tokenize natural resources, as authorized by a law passed in May 2023. However, key components of Sango, such as citizenship-by-investment, were struck down by the Constitutional Court in 2022. The project has struggled to gain traction.

**Regulatory Gaps and Uncertainties:** There is no specific national licensing regime for crypto exchanges or clear KYC/AML rules tailored for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs). The National Agency for Regulation of Electronic Transactions (ANTE), envisioned in the 2022 law, has an unclear operational status. General AML/CFT frameworks exist at the regional level, but their application to the crypto sector is hampered by the banking ban and lack of national implementation. The regional financial market supervisor, COSUMAF, has created a preliminary VASP framework, but its practical effect in CAR is limited by the BEAC's opposition.

**Conclusion:** Individuals in the CAR are legally free to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies. However, they do so in an environment devoid of a formal national regulatory structure for consumer protection and market integrity. This activity is further constrained by a regional banking blockade. Therefore, the status is accurately classified as **Allowed-UnRegulated**.

**3. Specific, Relevant Text Excerpts:**
*   **March 2023 Amended Law:** "The new law says: 'All economic agents are free to accept cryptocurrencies as a form of payment.'" (Source: Central Banking, March 27, 2023).
*   **COBAC Decision:** "COBAC met in an extraordinary session and decided a general ban on cryptocurrencies and crypto assets by all the credit institutions of the Community." (Source: AfricLaw, July 21, 2022).
*   **IMF Report on Legal Tender Repeal:** "The authorities have agreed with BEAC to harmonize their crypto legislation with the monetary union framework on April 6, 2023—including by amending key articles of the crypto law pertaining to the legal tender status." (Source: IMF Country Report No. 23/150, May 2, 2023).
*   **Original 2022 Law:** "Article 1er : La présente Loi a pour objet de régir toutes les transactions liées aux cryptomonnaies en République Centrafricaine, sans restriction..." (Source: Droit-Afrique.com, Law No. 22.004).
*   **BEAC's Opposition:** "The regional central bank, the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), had strongly opposed the law... In May 2022, the regional banking regulator reaffirmed prohibitions on cryptocurrency holdings and transactions by financial institutions." (Source: Central Banking, March 27, 2023).

**4. Direct, Accessible URL Links to Specific Sources:**
*   [https://www.centralbanking.com/fintech/crypto-assets/7957486/car-to-drop-crypto-as-legal-tender](https://www.centralbanking.com/fintech/crypto-assets/7957486/car-to-drop-crypto-as-legal-tender)
*   [https://www.droit-afrique.com/uploads/RCA-Cryptomonnaies-loi-2022-004.pdf](https://www.droit-afrique.com/uploads/RCA-Cryptomonnaies-loi-2022-004.pdf)
*   [https://africlaw.com/2022/07/21/regulating-cryptocurrencies-in-the-central-african-republic-has-the-cart-been-put-before-the-horse/](https://africlaw.com/2022/07/21/regulating-cryptocurrencies-in-the-central-african-republic-has-the-cart-been-put-before-the-horse/)
*   [https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2023/05/02/Central-African-Republic-Selected-Issues-533031](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2023/05/02/Central-African-Republic-Selected-Issues-533031)
*   [https://www.radiondekeluka.org/actualites/economie/la-loi-rectificative-sur-les-cryptomonnaies-adoptee-par-lassemblee-nationale/](https://www.radiondekeluka.org/actualites/economie/la-loi-rectificative-sur-les-cryptomonnaies-adoptee-par-lassemblee-nationale/)