The Central African Republic became the second country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. Lawmakers in the Central African Republic, which has a population of six million, adopted the bill “unambiguously” before President Faustin-Archange Touadera signed the measure into law, according to a statement from Touadera’s chief of staff, Obed Namsio.
“The adoption of bitcoin as official money represents a decisive step toward opening up new opportunities for our country,” Namsio said in the statement, translated from French. The move comes the day after the country revealed plans for a legal framework around the use of cryptocurrencies. The government has yet to detail its cryptocurrency infrastructure or regulations around bitcoin’s use as legal tender.
The legislation focuses on defining how citizens can interact with digital assets, Finance Minister Herve Ndoba said, according to a Bloomberg report. He added that the Central African Republic is not trying to mimic El Salvador, which became the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender in September 2021.