AmbaCoin
{{short description|Cryptocurrency}}
{{Update|date=June 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox cryptocurrency
| currency_name = AmbaCoin
| image_1 = 150px
| image_title_1 = Official logo of AmbaCoin
| initial_release_date = 24 December 2018
| status = In use
| catISO4217 =
| website = {{URL|https://ambacoin.io}}
| exchange_rate = US$0.25
}}
AmbaCoin is the official cryptocurrency of Ambazonia.{{Cite web |last=Atabong |first=Amindeh Blaise |title=Cameroon's Anglophone separatists have created their own cryptocurrency |url=https://qz.com/africa/1492745/cameroon-anglophone-separtists-create-cryptocurrency-ambacoin/ |website=Quartz Africa |date=12 December 2018 |access-date=25 November 2019 |archive-date=12 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181212204756/https://qz.com/africa/1492745/cameroon-anglophone-separtists-create-cryptocurrency-ambacoin/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=14 December 2018 |title=Ambacoin, la cryptomonnaie pour les séparatistes camerounais |newspaper=Le Monde.fr |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2018/12/14/ambacoin-une-cryptomonnaie-pour-les-separatistes-au-cameroun_5397673_3212.html |via=Le Monde |access-date=25 November 2019 |archive-date=14 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214171128/https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2018/12/14/ambacoin-une-cryptomonnaie-pour-les-separatistes-au-cameroun_5397673_3212.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Cameroun anglophone: l'AmbaCoin disponible à l'achat - RFI |url=http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20190102-cameroun-anglophone-ambacoin-disponible-achat |website=RFI Afrique |date=January 2019 |access-date=25 November 2019 |archive-date=2 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102025031/http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20190102-cameroun-anglophone-ambacoin-disponible-achat |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Tom |date=7 January 2019 |title=December in Africa: {{sic|Ghan|ian|hide=y}} healthcare drones and Cameroonian separatist cryptocurrency |url=https://thenextweb.com/contributors/2019/01/07/december-in-africa-ghanian-healthcare-drones-and-cameroonian-separatist-cryptocurrency/ |website=The Next Web |access-date=25 November 2019 |archive-date=7 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107114836/https://thenextweb.com/contributors/2019/01/07/december-in-africa-ghanian-healthcare-drones-and-cameroonian-separatist-cryptocurrency/ |url-status=live }} It was launched in 2018, and the ICO was from December 2018 to 2019.{{Cite web |title=AmbaCoin a revolutionary cryptocurrency to assist the Ambazonian quest |url=https://ambacoin.io/ |access-date=13 January 2020 |website=Ambazonian Crypto Currency {{!}} AmbaCoin |language=en-US |archive-date=16 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216210235/https://ambacoin.io/ |url-status=live }} The Ambazonia Governing Council claims that all profits go towards their independence struggle and humanitarian aid.{{Cite web |title=Cameroon rebels issue virtual currency to fund independence |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/12/cameroon-rebels-issue-virtual-currency-fund-independence-181224172110496.html |access-date=13 January 2020 |website=www.aljazeera.com |archive-date=24 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224212600/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/12/cameroon-rebels-issue-virtual-currency-fund-independence-181224172110496.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Finnan |first=Daniel |date=1 January 2019 |title=Cameroon separatists sell cryptocurrency as replacement for CFA franc |url=http://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20190101-cameroon-separatists-sell-ambazonia-cryptocurrency-replacement-cfa-franc |access-date=13 January 2020 |website=RFI |language=en |archive-date=16 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191116132328/http://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20190101-cameroon-separatists-sell-ambazonia-cryptocurrency-replacement-cfa-franc |url-status=live }} It is said to be backed by the "rich natural resources" of the breakaway region.
As of the 18th of July 2024, their main hub ([https://transact.ambacoin.io transact.ambacoin.io]) is currently a dead link.
Proposal
In 2018, AmbaCoin was created with the intention of being the official currency of Ambazonia. Despite the AmbaCoin being a cryptocurrency, it cannot be used as an official currency due to many Ambazonians not having access to the internet, low internet literacy, and lack of proper electricity infrastructure; most residents have little to no access to electricity. Because of this, a new currency would have to be introduced if independence is attained, for day-to-day transactions and business matters. Several names have been suggested but none have been adopted officially. Examples include: the Amba, the Ambazonian Shilling, the Amba-Dollar, Southern Cameroonian Pound, Ambazonian Cowry (the historical currency that circulated along the coast of West Africa, mostly by traders and merchants, before the colonization of Africa), Njangi,{{Cite journal |last=Besin-Mengla |first=Mendong Margaret |date=2020-09-29 |title=Njangi: Pillar of Development in the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon |url=https://www.al-kindipublisher.com/index.php/jhsss/article/view/470 |journal=Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Studies |volume=2 |issue=5 |pages=31–40 |doi=10.32996/jhsss.2020.2.5.5 |s2cid=240049753 |issn=2663-7197 |doi-access=free |access-date=24 May 2024 |archive-date=25 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225131117/https://www.al-kindipublisher.com/index.php/jhsss/article/view/470 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Njangi Sociality: Mobility, ICTs and Mobile Money Usages and Practices amongst Poor Rural Farmers in the Cameroon Grassfields |url=https://www.imtfi.uci.edu/files/docs/2013/Nyamnjoh%20and%20Fuh%20-%20FINAL%20REPORT.pdf |access-date=24 May 2024 |archive-date=18 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118033534/https://www.imtfi.uci.edu/files/docs/2013/Nyamnjoh%20and%20Fuh%20-%20FINAL%20REPORT.pdf |url-status=live }} Ambazonian Dinar, Ambazonian Qwid and the West African Eco (provided it joins the ECOWAS along with the WAMZ if or once independence is attained).
References
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