On Wednesday, April 27, 2022, the Central African Republic becomes the first country in Africa to adopt the usage of bitcoin as a legal tender along with the CFA franc.
President Faustin Archange Touadera signed into law the Cryptocurrency Bill which had a week earlier enjoyed the unanimous passage by the country’s legislative arm.
This means everyone who has access to the internet – which is one of the major problems in the country – can now buy cryptocurrency in the country.
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Apart from setting a cryptocurrency record in Africa, CAR which is classified as one of the poorest countries by the World Bank becomes the second country in the world to adopt cryptocurrency as a legal tender after El Salvador.
Recalled that a North American country – El Salvador – became the first country in the world to officially adopt Bitcoin on September 7, 2021.
Like El Salvador, cryptocurrency has now become an accepted means of exchange for goods and services in the Central African Republic.
Hailing the historic move, the Chief of staff to the president, Obed Namsio was quoted by AFP as saying, “This move places the Central African Republic on the map of the world’s boldest and most visionary countries”.
Can CAR Residents Use Their Debit Card to Buy Crypto?
Despite the criticisms that have trailed the adoption of cryptocurrency in the poorest African country (in terms of Gross National Income), it has now become easier for residents in Bangui and other towns that have access to the internet to purchase and sell cryptocurrency of their choice.
For instance, BBC Africa quoted an economist, Yann Daworo, as saying that the crypto adoption would help businesses grow in Central African Republic as they could easily carry out transactions on their smartphones without having to “walk around with suitcases of CFA francs that will have to be converted into dollars to make purchases abroad”.
So…
Where can I buy cryptocurrency in Central African Republic?
At the time of the publication, there is no known cryptocurrency exchange that is based in the conflict-troubled country. However, it’s important to note that connection to the internet is one of the keys that makes cryptocurrency trading very easy.
Once there is an enabling crypto policy, crypto exchanges do not have to be physically present for people to get involved.
All that the crypto community in Central African Republic needs right now is to fund their debit card, log in to any credible global crypto exchange of their choice to dive right into the world of crypto investing.
Below are the best crypto exchanges to buy cryptocurrency in Central African Republic with Debit Card.
Coinmama
The fact that Coinmama allows its users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies using their credit or debit cards and bank transfer make the crypto exchange platform one of the best around the world, especially in countries where there is legal backing to the trading of crypto assets like we currently have in CAR.
However, it’s important to make the necessary findings before getting started.
Binance
Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world and has the highest number of crypto listings. It also allows lovers of bitcoin, ETH and others coins to buy and sell their assets regardless of location.
With close to 200 cryptocurrencies on Binance, Central African Republic residents can buy crypto on Binance.
If they can find the CFA franc as one of the countries, other globally-accepted currencies they can use include the US dollar, Euro and pounds sterling.
The platform supports over 50 currencies, anyway, the choice is yours.
a myriad of tools and pairs available to them within one powerful trading platform. You can watch the starter video to learn how the platform works.
LocalBitcoins
Localbitcoins is one of the pioneer P2P bitcoin trading platforms irrespective of location or your currency.
Once you can access the internet, LocalBitcoins makes it possible for its buyer to connect with sellers in a seamless way.
Bitsquare
This is another peer to peer exchange where buyers can find sellers of bitcoin and other altcoins.
Note: Biysquare is for advanced users and it’s advisable to properly know how the platform works before making an attempt to buy crypto on it.
Kraken
With its affordable transaction fees, Kraken is another global bitcoin exchange that CAR residents might want to give a try.
It accepts deposits in USD, EUR, and GBP among others.
Remitano
One of the most used cryptocurrency peer-to-peer platforms in Africa is remitano, especially in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana and six other countries.
At the time of this publication, Central African Republic isn’t listed as one of the supported countries, but with the recent crypto adoption in that country, remitano might come up with another feature that allows crypto enthusiasts in CAR to allow them buy and sell crypto.
Note: Transaction charges of remitano are high
Paybis
Created in 2014, paybis makes trading cryptocurrencies easy for buyers and sellers. It is global and supports currencies like Pounds sterling and USD among others.
Transactions are faster when credit or debit cards are used to make crypto purchases on paybis, making it easier for the Central African Republic to trade bitcoin on the platform.
Note that it could take more than 24 hours (depending on your bank) for a transaction that is done through bank transfer to reflect the equivalent of your crypto assets on your wallet.
BuyCoin Africa
One of the unique things about BuyCoins Africa is the fact that it was specifically designed as a crypto platform for Africans to join the crypto global investing community.
Apart from that, it also allows interested individuals and corporate bodies to buy stocks in American companies
If you’re in the Central African Republic, you can try buycoins Africa.
Paxful
Paxful is P2P platform where buyers and sellers meet to complete trades. The platform says users can open trade anywhere around the world.
However, ID verification may be required for you to use the platform. That shouldn’t be a problem since crypto is now legal in the Central African Republic.
One-on-trade
The last option is one-on-trade. However, choose a secured environment to carry out crypto trade using the one-on-one trade
And we shouldn’t hide from the fact that the existing economic and social-related problems in the country may pose threat to the success of BTC in the Central African Republic.
Recap:
As crypto exchange founders and investors continue to understudy the crypto legislation in Central African Republic, we believe that more options to buy bitcoin and other coins are going to be available in the country in the days ahead.