The Central African Republic (CAR), a mineral-rich but economically struggling nation, has launchedCAR Meme, a fungible crypto asset representing the official meme of the Central African Republic. The meme is designed to attract investment and support national development, according to the Government. This initiative follows the country’s decision in 2022 to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, making it the second nation after El Salvador to do so.
CAR Meme, built on the Solana blockchain, is the first meme coin endorsed by a national government, and backed by President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, a former mathematics professor.
President Touadéra described the launch as an experiment to show how “something as simple as a meme can unite people, support national development, and put the Central African Republic on the world stage in a unique way.”
Within just 48 hours, its market capitalization surged from80,000 to an all−time high of900 million, with trading volume nearing $1 billion. This made it one of the highest-performing decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes over such a short period. The coin has been listed on major exchanges like MEXC, BingX, BitMart, LBank, and XT, and trended as the #1 cryptocurrency on the Solana blockchain. Over 27,000 holders have already joined the project.
In 2022, the country adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, followed by the launch ofSango Coin, a cryptocurrency offering investors citizenship, land, and access to the nation’s natural resources, including gold and diamonds. Despite its vast mineral wealth, decades of conflict have left the CAR’s resources largely untapped.
