Last month, the Central African Republic surprised the world by making bitcoin legal tender. As it happened with El Salvador, Bitcoiners from around the world jumped to support the project. On May 22nd, a French-speaking bitcoin-heavy delegation of sorts landed in Bangui, the Central African Republic’s capital. Why were they there?
To talk bitcoin, that’s why. There’s a lot to learn and no time to waste. From helping the attendees download bitcoin wallets and distributing sats to them; to explaining the difference between bitcoin and the rest of crypto, to answering that first set of questions everyone interacting with the technology for the first time has. The francophone Bicoiners were busy spreading the message.
«Merci de votre implication à nos côtés. Bitcoiners du monde entier, vous êtes les bienvenus, vous êtes attendus, même.»
Merci @FA_Touadera pour cet échange riche et pour ce formidable espoir que vous insufflez.
Ensemble, nous ferons de cet espoir une réalité. #RCA🇨🇫#BTC pic.twitter.com/d3aPHBrt0H— Seb Gouspillou (@SebGouspillou) May 26, 2022
The delegation consisted of:
- Sebastién Gouspillou, President of the Commission of Foreign Affairs of the Economic.
- JeanMarie Cambacérès, Social and Environmental Council of France.
- Richard Détente, a journalist.
- Jean Christophe Brusnel, the organizer of the SurfinBitcoin conference.
- David Oren, a privacy activist.
- Nicolas Burtey, Galoy CEO
- Noor, Galoy Director of Partnerships.
BTC price chart for 05/30/2022 on Currency.com | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
What Did The Francophone Delegation Say To The Central African Republic’s Authorities?
Besides a few tweets here and there, the only report we have yet is from Galoy themselves, and even they don’t know much:
“What we know so far is that the delegation were welcomed cordially and with a lot of interest. A number of meetings with government officials as well as civil society representatives took place during the week. Orange pills were distributed. Sats were sent over Lightning. Minds were blown.”
The highlight of the week came on Friday, when the French-speaking Bitcoiners hosted a presentation for the Central African Economic and Monetary Community. That’s “an international organization made up of Central African Republic, Gabon, Cameroon, Chad, the Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea.“ The event echoes the one the Alliance for Financial Inclusion held for Central Bankers in El Salvador a week ago. Is there something brewing in the most exciting parts of the world?
There is a member of the IMF in this #bitcoin conference in Central African Republic 😅
I want to say, this day will be in the books pic.twitter.com/tZOOEzFG9q
— Nicolas Burtey (@nicolasburtey) May 27, 2022
What did the Bitcoiners and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community talk about?
“In front of an audience of 400 listeners, Galoy’s own Nicolas Burtey held a presentation that emphasized the uniqueness of Bitcoin and how it is critically distinct from other cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, he outlined the benefits of Bitcoin adoption in El Salvador in the few months since the Bitcoin Law, from financial inclusion, over tourism and foreign investment to mining with renewable energy sources, before exploring the potential positive impact proper adoption could bring to the people of Central African Republic.”
🤯
Dr Yamb Ntimba: up to 85% of export (ie: gold) made by Central African Republic are been kept in the treasury of France
You bet #bitcoin will be useful for this country pic.twitter.com/31s5h1RsVj
— Nicolas Burtey (@nicolasburtey) May 27, 2022
What Else Do We Need To Know?
To find out what else went down in the heart of Africa, tune in to a “Live talk with the Bitcoiner delegation that traveled to Bangui on invitation of the country’s officials to learn about the plans of adopting Bitcoin as legal tender.” The event will go down on June 2nd, at 6 pm UTC.
ABCG #23📽️ June 2, 6PM UTC 📅
Bitcoiners in Central African Republic 🇨🇫Live talk with the Bitcoiner delegation that traveled to Bangui on invitation of the country's officials to learn about the plans of adopting Bitcoin as legal tender. https://t.co/m8UEkNXCGh pic.twitter.com/LT5TfN1sVI
— Adopting Bitcoin (@AdoptingBTC) May 27, 2022
Among other stories, you’ll probably hear about the IMF representative that witnessed the conference, and about Dr. Yamb Ntimba’s claim that “up to 85% of export (ie: gold) made by Central African Republic are been kept in the treasury of France.” Yikes!
Global financial inclusion can only be achieved by adopting the hardest asset backed by the #currency of the Universe.#Bitcoin will pave the way for a better #future.#BTC #CAR
— Faustin-Archange Touadéra (@FA_Touadera) May 28, 2022
In any case, the conference seems to have had a positive effect on President Faustin-Archange Touadéra. He recently tweeted, “Global financial inclusion can only be achieved by adopting the hardest asset backed by the currency of the Universe. Bitcoin will pave the way for a better future.” It’s worth remembering that President Touadéra recently announced Project Sango, “the first legal crypto hub recognized by a country’s parliament.”
Featured Image by jorono from Pixabay | Charts by TradingView
