"CAR's Blockchain Bet: Memecoin's Wild Ride and President's Vision"

The Central African Republic (CAR) has made headlines with the launch of a Solana-based memecoin, managed by the state-owned mineral firm, COMIGEM. President Faustin-Archange Touadéra announced the initiative on his X account, marking a significant step in the country's embrace of blockchain technology.

This move comes on the heels of CAR's adoption of bitcoin as legal tender in 2022, following El Salvador's lead. The newly launched memecoin, CAR, initially gained significant market traction, peaking at over $800 million in market capitalization, according to DEX Screener. This figure represents nearly a third of the nation's 2023 GDP of $2.76 billion, indicating the potential impact of the memecoin on the country's economy.

However, as is common with memecoins, CAR's market capitalization quickly crashed, currently holding only $50 million. Despite the volatility, the CAR memecoin claims to have a purpose beyond mere speculation. The project's official website states that 45% of the token's supply is earmarked for "country development" and "charity," with the tokens locked up on the Solana token distribution platform, Streamflow.

The management of the CAR memecoin's website and services is handled by COMIGEM, a state-owned mineral buying office in the Central African Republic. Notably, 25% of the CAR supply is set aside for "Creators & Company," which presumably refers to COMIGEM. Efforts to reach out to the team behind the token for comment were unsuccessful.

Jupiter, the Solana DEX aggregator, confirmed contact with the team behind the token and requested that they make their blockchain contract uncancelable. In a recent development, President Touadéra announced plans to allocate $50,000 worth of CAR tokens within the next 30 days to repair a deteriorating high school in the country.

Touadéra celebrated the memecoin launch in a video posted on X, positioning the Central African Republic as being at the forefront of a "revolution" being wrought by blockchain technology. The token's market capitalization briefly surged by $200 million following the president's post but quickly dipped lower than its previous trading levels.

The launch of the CAR memecoin highlights the growing interest in blockchain