Thread by @gladstein

1/ Good BBC radio interview about the Central African Republic's surprising Bitcoin adoption with journalist @clementdiroma who is based in the country 🇨🇫

It provides good color and on-the-ground detail.

Some key points 🧵

bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0…

2/ The bill has actually been in the works for the past month, with a lot of debate and criticism from the opposition, but it was passed unanimously on April 22nd.

Some opponents of the bill didn't show up for the vote, and some plan to challenge it later.

3/ Only 10% of the Central African Republic's population uses the internet -- and very few have smartphones -- so @clementdiroma expects the CFA franc to remain dominant for now

Worth noting that the CAR is the second-least developed country in the world according to the UN

4/ Why then, did the government adopt Bitcoin if so few can connect online?

a) The government thinks it could open new opportunities and provide new economic development

b) Because of the civil war, it's hard to trade in/out/with the CFA franc. Bitcoin can make things easier.

5/ He says that the opposition/civil society are saying most people won't be able to use Bitcoin, that scams will be rife, that it will be used by the state for money laundering, and that it could scare away donors and international aid

(Same criticisms found in El Salvador)

6/ He says since people don't have full internet access, most people in the streets don't care about the law, or have mocked it as something for the 1%.

Regular folks don't have smartphones and can't afford the internet.

This will certainly be a story worth following!

7/ Only 14% of the population has access to electricity, mainly in the capital Bangui

Hydropower represents more than half the country’s electricity generation

🌊

8/ Really good point here on resisting the CFA system: