The Central African Republic, a poverty-stricken and perennially unstable country despite its vast mineral wealth, has launched a memecoin called $CAR, which had a tumultuous debut, according to experts.

Central African Republic has launched a meme coin in what President Faustin-Archange Touadera said was a bid to raise the profile of one of the world's poorest countries.

Faustin-Archange Touadéra, president of the Central African Republic, said on X that the country’s memecoin was “an experiment designed to show how something as simple as a meme can unite people, support national development and put CAR on the world stage in a unique way”.