The Central African Republic has launched a memecoin named after the country and ticker CAR. The token that President Faustin-Archange Touadéra announced on X (formerly Twitter) has quickly gained traction, surpassing $1 billion in market capitalization within 4 hours of its debut.
Another President-Backed Meme
Interestingly, the African country launched a memecoin after the United States President Donald Trump officially launched his TRUMP meme token in January 2025.
In his announcement, President Touadéra described CAR as “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.”
He also emphasized his long-standing belief in the power of crypto, referencing his role as the second country leader in adopting Bitcoin as legal tender. Notably, the first president to make this move was Nayib Bukele of El Salvador in 2021. However, the Salvadorean government recently clarified that businesses can voluntarily accept BTC as a payment method.
While the Pump.fun Solana-based token CAR has experienced a rapid rise, memecoins are generally known for their high volatility. The token’s burned liquidity adds some security against manipulation, but with over 82% of the supply concentrated in the top 10 wallets, whale activity could still influence price swings.
Nonetheless, high volatility results in life-changing gains or trenching losses. Lookonchain, a blockchain analytics platform, tweeted that a snipe trader flipped $5,000 into over $12 million in less than three hours, marking an over 245,000% return on investment (ROI).
CAR Faces Concerns
The authenticity of the Central African Republic’s $CAR memecoin has come under scrutiny due to several red flags. One of the biggest concerns is that AI deepfake detectors flagged the announcement video as 82% likely to be AI-generated, raising doubts about whether the president endorsed the project.
Additionally, CAR’s official X account has been suspended, further fueling speculation about potential fraud or policy violations. Inconsistencies in the domain registration process have also raised questions, leading some to suspect a lack of official government backing.
Meanwhile, the country’s previous attempt at a national crypto struggled to gain traction. Launched in 2022 as a tokenized national asset initiative, Sango Coin aimed to attract foreign investment and offer digital residency. However, the project faced significant setbacks due to regulatory hurdles and a lack of investor confidence.
