The Central African Republic (CAR) - one of the poorest countries in the world - is gaining global attention by announcing it will tokenize over 1,700 hectares of national land using its own meme coin $CAR, directly deployed on the Solana blockchain. This is an unprecedented move aimed at promoting transparency and attracting international investment with blockchain technology.
Selling land with meme coin - a vision that has become a reality?
On May 16, President Faustin-Archange Touadéra announced that starting in June, large plots of land located about 45km west of the capital Bangui would be put online for sale - and payment would only be accepted in $CAR on the Solana network.
This land area is over 1,700 hectares - equivalent to 2,500 football fields - as specified in the presidential decree accompanying the law on resource tokenization and the national mining code. This leads many to believe that the land use may be related to gold or diamond mining, which are key economic sectors in #CAR .
The price of $CAR has surged - but is there cause for concern?
Just a few hours before the official announcement, the price of $CAR unexpectedly surged 21% on the day, and has increased more than 127% over the week. At the time of the announcement, $CAR was trading at $0.05, with a market capitalization of over $56 million and more than 18,400 holders, according to CoinGecko.
However, this price is still down 92.7% from its all-time high of $0.70 shortly after its launch in February. At that time, $CAR reached a market capitalization of nearly $884 million, but quickly plummeted due to a lack of clear utility and declining interest.
President Touadéra continues to show strong support for $CAR, regularly posting on social media and even inviting 100 top $CAR holders to meet in Dubai at the end of April, similar to how former U.S. President Donald Trump promoted token $TRUMP .
Having previously failed with Sango Coin, CAR is taking a new direction with $CAR.
Notably, this effort to tokenize land comes right after CAR's first national digital currency project - Sango Coin - officially ceased operations at the end of April. The Sango project was launched in 2022 with the hope of digitizing the economy but faced much criticism and dissatisfaction from investors.
Nevertheless, the Sango development team remains vague about a 'new direction' for the project in the future.
What does this mean for the crypto market?
The move to tokenize land with meme coin by CAR sets an unprecedented precedent: a country applying blockchain technology to sell real assets with payment units being meme coins backed by the government. Despite the significant risks, this action demonstrates the potential application of blockchain in managing public assets and natural resources.
However, the level of transparency, efficiency, and safety of the system remains a major question - especially when land is involved in the mining sector, an area that has seen much controversy in CAR, particularly under the influence of foreign forces.
Connecting with the global crypto market
CAR's move could spark interest from other emerging nations looking to leverage blockchain and crypto to access global capital. At the same time, it shows the growing role of meme coins in the decentralized financial ecosystem, far beyond their initial 'fun' nature.
For users on exchanges like Binance, the trend of tokenizing real assets and government-backed meme coins could be a sector to watch in the coming time if similar projects start to flourish in developing regions.
Risk warning: Investing in the cryptocurrency market always carries significant risks and is not suitable for everyone. The value of tokens can fluctuate widely and profits are not guaranteed. Please consider carefully and take responsibility for all investment decisions. #anhbacong