The Central African Republic’s (CAR) newly launched memecoin experienced a dramatic fall, dropping 96.7% from its peak within just over 24 hours.
The cryptocurrency, which had reached a peak price of $0.89 and a market cap of roughly $894 million, plummeted to a low of $0.029 by early Tuesday, with its market cap shrinking to approximately $29 million, as per DEX Screener data.
The memecoin market has faced a challenging week, influenced in part by tariff announcements from U.S. President Donald Trump. A notable index of leading memecoins, GMCI Meme, saw a decline of about 40% in a matter of days, although it has seen a slight recovery since. Trump’s official memecoin, launched on January 18, has also suffered, currently down around 79% from its peak, trading at $16.11.
President Faustin-Archange Touadéra announced the launch of the $CAR memecoin via his official social media account, describing it as an "experiment" to demonstrate the unifying power of memes, support national development, and bring global attention to the Central African Republic.
Despite his enthusiasm, the launch was met with skepticism and concerns over its legitimacy, especially in light of recent high-profile social media account hacks and fake token promotions.
The initial announcement was further marred by the poor quality of President Touadéra’s greenscreen video and the suspension of the memecoin’s official social media account. Efforts are underway to restore the account, and President Touadéra has assured that the token supply is "securely locked" through Streamflow’s token management infrastructure.
The CAR project’s website outlines the token allocation, with 35% dedicated to country development and 25% to creators and company. The remaining tokens are distributed among liquidity, charity, and public distribution, with different schedules for release. The website also includes a disclaimer emphasizing that the CAR meme is intended for fun and community engagement, not as an investment or financial asset.
Despite the initial market reaction, President Touadéra remains committed to the token and its associated initiatives. He expressed gratitude to the crypto community on Monday and highlighted the use of the $CAR memecoin in funding the repair and furnishing of a deteriorating high school, allocating $50,000 worth of tokens to the project.
The Central African Republic has previously engaged with cryptocurrency, adopting bitcoin as legal tender in 2022, a move that was later repealed, and launching its national cryptocurrency, Sango Coin, to establish a digital economy based on its mineral resources.
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