The nation of Cameroon in Africa has been looking to create its own cryptocurrency since 2018, and new developments are now at hand.
The currency is a step in the country’s ongoing “separatist movement.” Officials have been working to free themselves from a Francophone government for some time, and this new cryptocurrency will give Cameroonians a chance to obtain further financial independence.
The currency is known as AmbaCoin, named after the Federal Republic of Ambazonia (Southern Cameroon), which is what the region is looking to be known as. Roughly 20,000 individual currency units have already been sold and purchased since the currency’s pre-sale of about 100 million coins began in November 2018. It’s a small number, but for a people that have been starved of appropriate finances for some time, it’s a solid move forward.
A New Kind of Coin
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The primary initial coin offering (ICO) has been going on since Christmas Eve, which means there’s still plenty of time to get the remaining coins sold. The creators claim that it is backed by the country’s “rich natural resources,” though it’s unclear what that means, exactly. At the time of writing, one AmbaCoin is selling for about 25 cents USD. In addition, the asset is slated to be entirely “nation-backed.” AmbaCoin is also built via the Ethereum blockchain, making it an official ERC-20 token.
The technologists, developers and scholars behind the currency remain entirely anonymous, though the coin has gained the attention and support of several secessionists and separatists. Chris Anu – secretary of state of communication and IT for the Federal Republic of Ambazonia – even took to Facebook to post a bond representing the currency and mentioned, “We’re getting there, folks.”
Making Things “Stable”
There are also plans to create a traditional fiat currency for the nation once its full independence is achieved. This will then be tied to AmbaCoin, which will inherently make the digital asset a stable coin and give it power against volatility and the wild price swings one often witnesses amongst most major digital payment currencies like bitcoin and Ethereum. Residents are seeking to rid themselves of the Central African franc (CFA), which Cameroon presently uses.
One of the biggest problems, however, is that most of the money and financial resources supporting the area are controlled by a Francophone government which is seeking to limit access to separatists. Developers for the new coin state:
“Numerous Ambazonians in the diaspora and other stakeholders who want to see a prosperous Ambazonia are unable to help provide foreign direct investment to the governing council.”
Countries Following Suit
Many nations are seeking to rid themselves of the financial holds they’re experiencing from other countries. Iran, for example, has long been in the process of discussing and potentially building a nationally-recognized cryptocurrency that could potentially release it from sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies.
This is interesting in the sense that Iran has not always had the “cleanest” relationship with crypto, and even in the creation of this new coin, Iran is aiming to knock out any competition by discouraging the use of bitcoin, Ethereum and other major assets.
Too Many Ups and Downs
In addition, Venezuela released the petro coin in early 2018. Allegedly backed by the country’s many oil reserves, the currency is designed to assist the country’s ailing economy following mass inflation of the bolivar, Venezuela’s national fiat currency.
Unfortunately, the petro has been swamped with controversy since its official debut from how much has been made through its ICO to the non-mention of oil reserves in its official white paper. U.S. President Donald J. Trump has even enforced a ban on petro trading and selling to prevent Americans from falling victim to potential swindles.
