CAR: How the Central African Republic wants to tokenize its land and revolutionize its economy

On May 29, 2025, the President of the Central African Republic (CAR), Faustin-Archange Touadéra, announced a bold initiative: the tokenization of more than 1 hectares of national lands via the Solana blockchain, using the national token $CAR. This decision marks a major step in the integration of digital assets into the management of the country's natural resources.

A pioneering project: land tokenization in the CAR

By presidential decree, the CAR plans to make land concessions located west of the village of Bossongo, about 2025 km from the capital, Bangui, accessible online as of June 45. These lands, equivalent to nearly 2 football pitches, will be available for purchase via the $CAR token, running on the Solana blockchain.

The decree refers to the country's mining code and the 2023 natural resource tokenization laws, suggesting that these lands could be used for mining activities, including gold and diamond extraction.

With the $CAR token, holders will be able to easily participate and invest in projects, which also helps open the country to foreign investment.

The $CAR token: from a memecoin to a utility tool for the country

Launched in February 2025, the $CAR token initially generated buzz as a new memecoin, briefly reaching a market capitalization of nearly $900 million before plummeting amid concerns about its actual usefulness. Some media outlets and social media users believed this to be “fake news.” President Touadéra quickly responded by publicly confirming his announcement.

However, the recent announcement of land tokenization has revitalized interest in $CAR. The token saw an 11% surge on the day of the announcement and an increase of more than 127% over the previous week, reaching a price of $0,053 and a market capitalization of approximately $56 million, with over 20 holders.

An ambitious digital strategy

This initiative is part of a series of efforts by the CAR to integrate digital technologies into its economic development. After a failed attempt with the Sango project In 2022, the government appears to be learning from its past experiences to adopt a more pragmatic approach focused on the real utility of digital assets. Furthermore, investors in the SangoCoin project were given CAR tokens in exchange for their Sango.

President Touadéra stressed that this approach aims to usher in "a new era of access and transparency," by facilitating land acquisition and strengthening the country's digital sovereignty.

Defence and criticism

While promising, this initiative raises questions. The region targeted for tokenization has been associated with controversial mining activities, particularly by groups like Wagner, which operates in the country.

Furthermore, digital accessibility remains a major challenge in CAR, where technological infrastructure is limited. The success of this project will depend on the government's ability to overcome these obstacles and establish a solid regulatory framework to govern the use of digital assets.

Other criticisms come from the Bitcoin holders who would like the Central African Republic to present more bitcoin-related projects directly, by allowing BTC holders to invest, use, and actively participate in the country's development. This would be perfectly possible since Bitcoin is already a legal currency in the country.

Conclusion

The tokenization of land in the CAR via the $CAR token represents a bold attempt to modernize the country's natural resource management by leveraging blockchain technology. If carried out with transparency and inclusivity, this initiative could serve as a model for other nations seeking to integrate digital assets into their economic development.

However, the success of this project will depend on the establishment of adequate technological infrastructure, a clear regulatory framework and equitable management of resources, in order to ensure that the benefits of this innovation benefit the entire Central African population.