Central African Republic Launches $CAR Memecoin, Value Drops 60% After Peak

• $CAR memecoin launches in the Central African Republic
• Concerns over authenticity of presidential announcement
• Debate on transparency in token distribution

The Central African Republic (CAR) has surprised the cryptocurrency market by announcing the launch of a national memecoin, named $CAR. President Faustin-Archange Touadéra announced the news on his official X platform account, highlighting that the initiative is an experiment to demonstrate the potential of a meme in uniting the people, in support to the development of the country and to promote the CAR on the global stage in an innovative way. The post, made in English, raised doubts among analysts and investors, since the country's official languages ​​are French and Sango.

Today, we are launching $CAR – an experiment designed 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.

Contract: 7oBYdEhV4GkXC19ZfgAvXpJWp2Rn9pm1Bx2cVNxFpump

— Faustin-Archange Touadera (@FA_Touadera) February 9, 2025

The memecoin’s announcement quickly sparked a frenzy in the crypto market. Within hours, the token reached a market cap of approximately $900 million before plunging by more than 60%. During this time, investors rushed to trade the new coin on the Solana Pump.fun platform, driving its price to an impressive peak. However, the initial excitement was replaced by uncertainty as allegations of potential manipulation and lack of transparency in the project began to surface.

One of the first controversies involved the authenticity of the announcement itself. Deepfake detection tools identified signs of manipulation in the video in which President Touadéra promotes the token. Some analyses pointed out that, although the president's lip movements appeared to be synchronized with the audio, the background of the video had features generated by artificial intelligence. This suspicion raised questions about the veracity of the initiative, especially considering that the token's official profile on X was suspended shortly after the announcement.

In addition to concerns about the authenticity of the video, crypto experts have analyzed the distribution of the tokens and found irregularities. On-chain data indicates that more than 80% of the total supply of the memecoin has been pre-allocated, with approximately $15 million already withdrawn by the project’s controllers, who still hold around 70% of the supply. This information has reinforced fears that the project may be being manipulated, raising doubts about the true intention behind the initiative.

The CAR has a history of involvement with cryptocurrencies. In 2022, it became the second country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, following in the footsteps of El Salvador. It subsequently launched its own national cryptocurrency, Sango Coin, which has struggled to gain traction. However, last year, parliament repealed the legislation that made Bitcoin legal tender, reflecting the challenges of adopting crypto assets on a national scale.

The $CAR case comes at a time when world leaders are exploring the use of cryptocurrencies as a political and economic tool. In the United States, former President Donald Trump recently launched his own memecoin, $TRUMP, which sparked debate about the influence of digital assets on politics and the financial markets. With RCA’s experience, the phenomenon of government memecoins adds a new layer of complexity to the crypto space.

As investors try to understand the viability of the Central African memecoin, the international community continues to closely monitor the development of this experiment. Uncertainty over the authenticity of the project and the lack of clarity on the distribution of tokens keep the market attentive to the next moves of the CAR government.