In a bold move blending national development with crypto innovation, the Central African Republic (CAR) is making headlines again—this time by announcing a land tokenization initiative powered by its national meme coin, $CAR. The effort, which will tokenize over 1,700 hectares of land west of Bangui, is set to begin in June and will take place on the Solana blockchain.
President Faustin-Archange Touadéra made the announcement Thursday via X (formerly Twitter), posting a presidential decree and declaring, “A new era of access and transparency begins.” According to the decree, the land tokenization falls under the country’s mining code and recently passed legislation focused on tokenizing natural resources—an indication that the plots may be targeted for gold and diamond mining operations.
Located near the village of Bossongo, approximately 45 kilometers west of the capital, the tokenized land spans an area equivalent to nearly 2,500 football fields. This digital-first real estate venture signals CAR’s continued ambition to blend blockchain technology with national infrastructure planning—while simultaneously promoting the $CAR token as a cornerstone of its digital transformation.
Unlike previous flirtations with crypto through fanfare-driven NFTs or short-lived digital currency projects, this land tokenization appears more strategic. It comes just a year after CAR passed legislation supporting tokenized natural resources, laying the groundwork for this latest initiative. And perhaps more significantly, it marks a shift in narrative: from experimental hype to practical use cases that tie blockchain to real assets.
The market responded swiftly. On the day of the announcement, the $CAR token surged by 21% to hit $0.05, according to CoinGecko data. That spike capped off a week of gains, bringing the token’s seven-day performance to over 127%. Some of the momentum, however, started earlier in the week, prompting speculation that insider knowledge may have played a role.
Despite this rally, $CAR remains far below its February peak, when it reached a market cap of $884 million only to nosedive due to unclear utility and fading excitement. At the time of this writing, the token’s market cap sits around $56.6 million, with just over 18,400 wallets holding it. That said, Touadéra’s public enthusiasm for $CAR hasn’t waned; he regularly posts about it on X and even offered a meet-and-greet with the top 100 holders at an event in Dubai last month—an approach reminiscent of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s crypto fanfare with $TRUMP.
This land initiative also comes as CAR winds down its previous national crypto experiment, Sango Coin. Launched in 2022 with grand ambitions to serve as a digital currency for the nation, Sango was eventually shelved amid investor backlash and regulatory confusion. On April 29, the Sango team issued a statement saying the project would not continue in its original form but hinted at a reboot aligned with “a stronger path forward.”
As CAR pivots to a new chapter in its blockchain journey, the country is sending a clear message: it’s not stepping away from crypto—it’s evolving its approach. By linking $CAR to tangible assets and integrating it with a global blockchain platform like Solana, the Central African Republic is attempting to reframe its meme coin from a speculative experiment into a tool for national development.
Whether this pivot will be embraced by global investors and the domestic public alike remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: CAR is betting big on crypto—again. Only this time, it’s doing it with both feet on the ground.
