Revisiting the presidential cryptocurrency trend through the lens of CAR Meme Coin

[TL;DR]

The President of the Central African Republic announced the launch of CAR Meme Coin, aiming to use cryptocurrency to boost the nation’s economy. However, the project has sparked controversy due to token centralization, lack of liquidity, and doubts about its authenticity. Like Trump’s TRUMP Coin, meme coins backed by political figures often experience sharp price surges and declines, posing high speculative risks. Investors should be cautious about the allure of “state endorsement.”

Introduction

After Trump launched his official cryptocurrency, TRUMP Coin, a new track for “presidential token issuance” was activated. On February 10, the President of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, posted a tweet on X that sparked heated discussions, announcing the launch of CAR Meme Coin. He stated that this experiment aims to leverage the power of memes to bring the Central African Republic onto the global stage. The tweet even included the smart contract address of the token. This announcement quickly ignited market enthusiasm, with CAR Meme Coin’s market cap soaring to nearly $1 billion in a short time. The dramatic scene of a “president urging people to buy tokens” has drawn global attention.

The Central African Republic’s Crypto Journey: From Bitcoin to CAR Meme

The Central African Republic is a small country in Central Africa, with a population of approximately 5.5 million. Despite its weak economic foundation, the country became the second in the world, after El Salvador, to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in 2022. President Touadéra has been a staunch supporter of cryptocurrency, believing it can help economically underdeveloped nations achieve “leapfrog development.” However, due to weak infrastructure and ineffective policy implementation, the attempt to legalize Bitcoin has not significantly improved the country’s economic situation.

The launch of CAR Meme Coin is being called “a new chapter in the national experiment.” However, this move has also sparked controversy. Some see it as a bold attempt that could bring new opportunities to the country, while others question its authenticity, even suspecting that the president’s X account may have been hacked.

Adding to the skepticism is that the announcement was made at midnight local time and in English rather than the official language, French. Moreover, AI detection tools like Deepware have indicated an 82% probability that the related video was synthesized. The project domain was registered only three days ago via Namecheap and has since been blocked from access. These doubts have cast a shadow over the authenticity and legitimacy of CAR Meme Coin. However, Gate.io’s latest report shows that the promotional posts remain undeleted.

CAR Tokenomics: Centralization and Liquidity Issues

According to CAR Meme Coin’s whitepaper, its total supply is 1 billion tokens, distributed as follows:

• 35% for national development
• 25% allocated to creators and businesses
• 20.7% for the liquidity pool (though on-chain data shows no liquidity has been injected yet)
• 10% for charity
• 9.3% for public distribution

However, on-chain data reveals that CAR Meme Coin ownership is highly concentrated. The largest wallet holds 33.31%, the second-largest holds 25%, and the top four wallets collectively control over 70% of the supply. This centralized structure has raised concerns about the token’s security and fairness. Although the president claims that the tokens are locked via Streamflow and will be distributed according to the plan, the lack of liquidity and concentrated ownership remain unresolved.

CAR Meme: Challenges of Technological Misuse and Trust Reconstruction

The CAR incident is not just a frenzy in the crypto market but also a microcosm of the intersection between cryptocurrency and political power. Meow, co-founder of Jupiter, stated that the team had contacted the CAR Meme Coin developers and verified some information through on-chain transactions. For example, the developers redeployed the initially revocable contract and burned some SOL tokens to prove their identity as the deployers. However, these efforts have not entirely dispelled market doubts.

The Central African Republic is attempting to overcome its economic difficulties through cryptocurrency, but its weak infrastructure and governance capabilities may render this vision unattainable. The failure of Bitcoin as a legal tender has already exposed similar issues, and whether CAR Meme will repeat the same mistakes remains to be tested over time.

On January 18, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump launched his personal cryptocurrency, TRUMP Coin, which surged rapidly after its release, with a peak increase of over 500 times. On January 20, Trump’s wife, Melania, launched the “First Lady Coin.” However, after a brief hype period, both meme coins saw significant declines starting January 21. According to Gate.io’s latest data, TRUMP Coin is now priced at $15.338, down 80% from its peak.

In conclusion, the dramatic rise of CAR Meme Coin is both a continuation of the crypto market’s wealth-creation myth and a reflection of technological misuse and trust deficits. In this new era where political narratives intertwine with decentralized ideals, investors must critically uate the allure of “state endorsement.” The ultimate answer to this game may lie in the synchronized evolution of regulation and technology.