Rapper and tech entrepreneur, Akon has shared the whitepaper for his upcoming “Akoin” cryptocurrency project.
The 45-page document describes Akoin as a cryptocurrency “designed for entrepreneurs in the rising economies of Africa and beyond; with a mission statement to “unlock the potential of the world’s largest growing workforce using blockchain technology.”
The whitepaper highlights Akoin as a utility token that powers atomic swaps between cryptocurrencies, fiat currencies and mobile phone credits on the Akoin network.
According to Akon, the subject of mobile credits used as currency in Africa is a key utility of the Akoin cryptocurrency, He explained:
We have so many currencies in Africa – a lot of them are unstable, and most of them are untrusted. It got to the point where the day-to-day African people don’t even use the currencies anymore, they’re using their cell phone minutes and credits as a way of trading for basic goods like produce, fish, fruits and things on the market.”
“Ultimately, outside of the villages, you really can’t trade cell phone minutes for anything. So we want to utilize that same mindset to take advantage of that mechanism outside of Africa – so even when they leave the continent, they can be able to utilize all of their credits and really be able to purchase real things.”
Akoin will be launched on the the Stellar (XLM) network, and will be used to pay for transaction fees, advertising fees on the platform, fees for listing applications and for other exchanges across the network.
The platform will focus on decentralized applications (Dapps) for the African market including apps for – mobile credit trading, micro-lending, phone credit trading, solar energy trading, media sharing, and healthcare.
For its Initial Exchange Offering (IEO), only 10% (45 million) Akoin tokens will be distributed at $0.15 each; with the IEO to be conducted in partnership with a top cryptocurrency exchange during the second quarter of 2020.
Akon also shared insights into his “Akoin Crypto City” project located on a 2,000 acres land provided by the President of Senegal. Akon says the city project will be complete within a 5-10 years span.
He also expressed interest in expanding Akoin cities to every major African country in a bid to unify Africa’s economy.
