Akon, a Grammy Award-nominated singer responsible for hits such as Don’t Matter and Lonely is establishing his own cryptocurrency - Akoin, according to numerous media reports.
According to a report from Bloomberg, the singer told the news outlet in an interview that Akoin will be used as the local currency in Akon City, a 2,000-acre development in Senegal.
Akon, who invested in Bitcoin back in 2014 and has been active within the crypto community, announced the potential plans for Akon City in 2019. Earlier this year, the land agreement was finalised with the Senegalese government. The city will be a futuristic-cryptocurrency themed city, with the first phase expected to be completed before the end of 2023.
The aim of Akoin is to be adopted by the African continent and beyond, with the launch most likely set to happen in early July this year, according to Jon Karas, president and co-founder of Akoin.
According to the interview, 10 per cent of the total float of Akoin will be issued initially through a public sale. However, this amount might change depending on demand. Another 10 per cent will be held by company executives, advisers and directors, the Whitepaper said.
Akoin has three founders - Akon, Karas and Lynn Liss, who also serves as chief operating officer. The coin has been built to be a utility token and not an investment tool, Karas told the news outlet.
Inspiration behind Akoin
Akon, 47, told the news outlet that the motivation for Akoin came a few years ago when the singer tried to convert some of Senegal’s currency to euros. However, the currency exchange didn’t take the West African CFA franc, the currency used in many French-speaking West African countries, including Senegal.
Aliaume Damala Badara Akon Thiam
Source: akon.com
“It really just opened my eyes,” Akon, said in the interview with Bloomberg. “That really catapulted the energy to say ‘We have to have our own currency. I don’t care what it takes — we’re going to fix this.'”
