CAR token’s value surged 1,210% to nearly $900 million after Touadéra’s video endorsement before plunging 87% amid renewed doubts.
By Temitope Olatunji
Edited by Marco T. Lanz
Updated
3 mins read
The President of the Central African Republic (CAR), Faustin-Archange Touadéra, reportedly announced the launch of a national memecoin, CAR. The CAR token gained massive attention after the president’s official X account revealed the launch of a government-backed memecoin as an experiment. While doubts surrounded the announcement, the token’s market cap rose to nearly $900 million before crashing.
Concerns arose regarding the timing of the announcement, which was made close to midnight in the Central African Republic. Since the country’s official languages are French and Sango, but the post was in English, many questioned its authenticity. These factors led skeptics to suspect that the account had been hacked. The founder of blockchain security firm Scam Sniffer revealed to Cointelegraph that the project’s Telegram group, which was linked through major data platforms like CoinGecko, contained harmful links.
Scam Sniffer also warned that scammers were altering information about tokens like CAR and embedding a fake Kick platform site using Linktree links. They were also using fake Cloudflare CAPTCHA verification pages to deceive users into running malicious code. The heavy criticism led to the project’s X account being suspended.
🚨 ALERT: Scammer modifying popular token information like $CAR and embedding fake Kick platform site through Linktree links.
They're using fake Cloudflare captcha verification pages to trick users into executing malicious code. https://t.co/kLSonrA8fF pic.twitter.com/VC0NKQgLiL
— Scam Sniffer | Web3 Anti-Scam (@realScamSniffer) February 10, 2025
Skeptics were temporarily convinced after Touadéra shared a video in which he spoke French and endorsed the token. In the video, he emphasized the Central African Republic’s belief in community and described the token as a symbol of unity, officially announcing its launch. He stated:
“The Central African Republic has always believed in the power and the importance of community. Based on this belief, and as a symbol of unity, I am proud to announce the launch of the official meme coin of the Central African Republic.”
The released video fueled a 1,210% surge in the token’s value, pushing its market cap from $68.47 million to $897.41 million within two and a half hours. However, new doubts emerged as some claimed the video was a deepfake, while others noted that the project’s website had become inaccessible. This led to an abrupt decline, with its valuation dropping 87% to $125 million within 11 hours.
Another post by the president reignited interest, driving a 196% increase in just half an hour, bringing the value back to $375 million. The X account was subsequently restored, and a new website was launched. This latest footage passed an AI detection test, leading many to accept it as genuine.
Today, I stand before you once again with a message of gratitude. The launch of $CAR has been a success!
I want to personally thank each and every one of you, our community, our supporters, and those who believe in our vision. We are building for the long term! pic.twitter.com/gR4QU3sHK5
— Faustin-Archange Touadéra (@FA_Touadera) February 10, 2025
The project’s tokenomics page showed that 35% of the supply is allocated for national development, 25% for the team and contributors, 20.7% for liquidity, 10% for charitable causes, and 9.3% for public circulation. The CAR token has since dropped by more than 91%, with its market cap now at $65 million, according to data from CoinGecko.
President Touadéra later announced that funds from the CAR meme token would be used to rebuild and furnish a deteriorating school to create better opportunities for students. He added that $50,000 worth of tokens from the national development allocation would be used over the next 30 days to support the restoration efforts.
This high school has been deteriorating rapidly over the past few years, putting students at risk of losing their access to education. With the help of the $CAR meme, we are able to support the rebuilding and furnishing of the school, giving students a chance for a better future. pic.twitter.com/iFPsBPrSoi
— Faustin-Archange Touadéra (@FA_Touadera) February 10, 2025
Temitope is a writer with more than four years of experience writing across various niches. He has a special interest in the fintech and blockchain spaces and enjoy writing articles in those areas. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in linguistics. When not writing, he trades forex and plays video games.
