Coinbase-Backed MARA to Help Central African Republic on Bitcoin

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – MARA, a cryptocurrency company backed by Coinbase Global Inc., said it will advise the president of the Central African Republic after the nation became the second globally after El Salvador to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. 
Newly established MARA also announced its entry into Nigeria and Kenya, and that that it had secured $23 million in funding from companies including Coinbase, Alameda Research LLC and Distributed Global LLC. 

“MARA will become the official crypto partner of the Central African Republic and an adviser to the president on crypto strategy and planning,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Central African Republic, which ranks second last on a United Nations human development index of 189 countries, in April announced adoption of the cryptocurrency, drawing criticism from the International Monetary Fund and a regional central bank. Only 11% of the country’s 5 million people have internet access, a prerequisite for the use of cryptocurrency, according to DataReportal.

The company is recommending that the government increase internet penetration and get more citizens national IDs, Chi Nnadi, MARA’s chief executive officer, said in an interview. “Those are the foundational things they need to accomplish,” he said.

The country, which has been plagued by years of conflict, hopes the use of Bitcoin as an official currency will attract investors, according to Albert Mokpeme, spokesman for President Faustin-Archange Touadera.

Source: Bloomberg Business News

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