The 47-year-old singer who has twelve billboard top ten hits and is famous for his 2006 “Smack it” hit has unveiled his plans to not only create his own cryptocurrency but also a “real-life Wakanda crypto city” in his country, Senegal. Akon made this known on Monday at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
GIVING BACK TO AFRICA
The big news may have surprised fans from far and near as the Akoin-project is a huge milestone for the musician, it is interesting to keep in mind that the artist has been making rounds in the public scene since last year, due to his notable works in Africa, ranging from scholarship programs to his Lightning Africa Project launched in 2014, which is all aimed at providing sustainable growth and development, both socially and economically through available resource and technology.
THE AKOIN PROJECT: The coin is set to launch in two weeks and the crypto city will be a leading Smart City equipped with everything a typical city should have; schools, parks, hospitals, etc.
“I think that blockchain and crypto could be the savior for Africa in many ways because it brings the power back to the people and brings the security back into the currency system and also allows the people to utilize it in ways where they can advance themselves and not allow government to do those things that are keeping them down”. He progressed to say
The website for Akoin states that 2,000 acres of land, gifted to the artist by the President of Senegal Macky Sall, is currently under development for the “Akon Crypto City”, the first of its kind; a 100% Crypto-based city with Akoin as its major trading currency.
When asked about technical questions concerning his digital currency, he took credits for the concept and made clear the rest of the work belonged to the geeks.
FUTURE PLANS :
Further speaking, the singer expressed his desire to run for Presidency alongside Kanye West in 2020. Wanting badly for Kanye to run for the position, Akon is already envisioning a future debate between himself, Kanye West and current President Donald Trump.
“It’s gonna be entertaining, it’s gonna be something worth watching, I’m going to go after Trump and Kanye will get offended because he likes Trump and he’s going to go after me. Then I’m going to go after Kanye and then Trump’s going to get offended because he likes Kanye and he’s going to go after me. And the debate stage will be set where it’s all about me. It’s perfect, a masterplan.” He said. He maintained that winning was not his main priority, as creating a conversation would be of greater value.
Akon is one of the many public figures who have revealed interest in owning their own digital currency. We will certainly be seeing more celebrity-owned coins as Manny Pacquiao, Michael Owen and more recently John McAfee has expressed interest in owning their own cryptocurrencies which are all still in the works.
