on the crypto
Grammy-nominated singer Akon outlined several potential use cases for his cryptocurrency known as Akoin, speaking at Binance's virtual conference 'Off the Charts'. Together with the Hollywood film producer and Akoin co-founder Jon Karas, he discussed the current state of the Akoin project.
The Akoin project
Akon said that cryptocurrency will surely strengthen Africans and bring down some of the main obstacles they face in their daily lives such as inflation, mismanagement of funds by the government and corruption.
As many African fiat currencies suffer from rampant inflation, including the West African CFA franc used in eight African countries, he explained, it is very difficult to exchange them in other currencies.
When he found that he couldn't trade CFA for euros in his hometown of Senegal, Akon decided to create his own currency. The Akoin wallet app will allow users to "learn, earn, spend and cherish".
The moderator of the event, Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, asked Akon if Akoin would be accepted for his concert tickets, to which Akon replied: "The concert will be one of the greatest tools of use, not only for myself but for everyone else on my label. [...] The idea is to be able to use encryption for everything we do. "
No official data has yet been disclosed
The launch of Akoin is currently scheduled through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) on the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange - which works differently from automatic trading platforms such as Bitcoin system. 10% of the total supply, 45 million coins, will be sold at a rate of $ 0,15 per coin.
The technical specifications for the cryptocurrency have not yet been disclosed, but will likely be based on the Stellar blockchain. Likewise, the exact launch date for the cryptocurrency is still pending, but the month of July has recently been mentioned as a potential launch date.
Akon City could become a medical center
Akon also revealed new details about his upcoming Akon City project, drawing up plans to turn the city into a health center. According to Akon and Karas, Akon City will be built around a state-of-the-art 5.000 bed hospital and has a medical ship nearby.
The medical facilities in the city will be managed by important doctors and, like everything else in the city, they can be paid for with Akoin. Akon also hinted that medical staff and city dwellers will also be paid with the cryptocurrency.
"Over time there will be potential for medical tourism," added Karas. To help realize this vision, the current president of Senegal, Macky Sall, offered Akon 2.000 acres of land just outside the capital Dakar. Construction of the project began in March 2019 and could take up to 10 years to complete, assuming that the cryptocurrency will survive so long.
