The Central African Republic, a landlocked country in Central Africa has recently passed a law that allows foreign investment in cryptocurrencies after it adopted Bitcoin as a legal tender last year.

Announcing the passage of this law, the CAR government said,

“The new law for the tokenization of natural resources sets down the framework for using Bitcoin and the country’s virtual currency, Sango, in the investment process. This includes foreign nationals wishing to invest in mining, agricultural, and forestry assets.

“Investors have the right to transfer abroad all annual profits accruing to them after payment of taxes, duties, and other obligations”.

Investors King understands that CAR is the first country in Africa to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender, and the second in the world after El Salvador.

This decision has however put the country at odds with the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), the regional central bank that serves the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), which the Central African Republic is a member of and violates the CEMAC Treaty.

President of Central African Republic Faustin-Archange Touadéra disclosed that the country’s crypto coin ‘Sango Coin’, which was launched in July last year, will be the next-generation currency for the country and will be a gateway to the country’s natural resources.

He said that Sango Coin is part of the CAR’s vision to have an integrated capital market that could stimulate commerce and sustain growth. He talked about the need for financial inclusion and the need for the country’s citizens to easily have access to cryptocurrencies via smartphones.

Explaining the project’s benefits, he stated that the citizens will gain at every level, as they will live in a country in full economic development, which means employment and prosperity.

Moreover, they will benefit from virtual transactions, which in contrast to traditional banking, have the advantage of rapid access, fast execution, lack of bureaucracy, and low cost. For us, a formal economy is no longer an option.”

The leading crypto trading company in Nigeria, Patricia, has paused withdrawals on its platform, following a security breach that saw it lose millions in crypto assets.

The company reportedly lost a whopping sum of $2 million in cryptocurrency and Naira as hackers successfully breached its security in January 2022, the company disclosed in a statement released over the weekend.

Announcing the breach, the company said, “Our services are divided into three arms: Patricia Personal, Patricia OTC Desk, and Patricia Business. Not long ago, we were victims of a breach. Patricia Personal, the retail trading application, was solely affected by this breach; BTC and Naira assets were compromised. Every other crypto balance remains unaffected, and we assure the public that all our customers and merchants’ assets are secure”.

Patricia however did not disclose the magnitude at which the assets were affected. It hinted that it may have become a target for hackers due to its increased popularity as a Bitcoin exchange platform.

Acknowledging the risks associated with public recognition, the company assured its customers of its commitment to pursuing and collaborating with security agencies to protect their assets. The company reportedly partnered with a security firm to conduct a comprehensive audit of its operations.

Findings by Investors King reveal that while Patricia has assured customers that their funds are safe following the pause of withdrawals, while very few are not worried, several others are not taking it likely as they have gone to the company’s post to express their concerns and grievances.

Founded in 2017, Patricia has become well-known for crypto and gift card trading, a feat it says has made it become a target for bad actors. With over 6 years of experience across the board, the company is led by a team that challenges the status quo.

Patricia, Nigeria’s leading cryptocurrency exchange platform, has lost $2 million in cryptocurrency assets to hackers, the company disclosed in a recent announcement.

According to the details of the now-public hack, Patricia lost a total sum of $2 million in customers’ money to a breach that occurred in January 2022.

On 26th May, Patricia via an email to customers announced it has commenced investigations into the activity of the hackers that compromised its Bitcoin and Naira assets in 2022.

Explain the unit of the company affected, the company said out of its three operating units, Patricia Personal, Patricia OTC Desk, and Patricia Business, only Patricia Personal, the retail trading arm of the company was the only unit affected by the security breach.

Therefore, the company announced a temporary suspension of withdrawals on its platform due to what it called “internal restructuring”.

However, customers have said before the company’s official announcement it had partially suspended withdrawals since January 2022 when the hack was suspected to have occurred. The customers said while they could deposit into their wallets they can’t transfer their coins to other platforms but can only withdraw the equivalent in Naira.

While Patricia did not disclose specifics of the breach, it said it has identified an individual within the syndicated group that breached its organisation. The company has expressed its determination and readiness to pursue the lead by collaborating with security agencies to recover the stolen assets.

Meanwhile, a Twitter user @dondekojo faulted the company’s action for the late report of the security breach it encountered last year.

He wrote, “So let me get this straight, Patricia allegedly got hacked in 2022 and lost ~$2m they didn’t say anything, continued to promote their retail trading app on BBN despite the deficit, they then created a new app in April that led to a self-inflicted bank run as people moved to other apps instead, and now they are freezing withdrawals.

Some users are skeptical that all might not be well with the platform despite its assurances, Investors King reports.