Akoin cryptocurrency is launched in Kenya as Akon City’s $ 6 billion pilot

The akoin cryptocurrency, created by famous singer and philanthropist Akon, has started trading on a global cryptocurrency exchange. It is also being launched as a means of payment in a Kenyan tech city as a pilot project for Akon City, the $ 6 billion futuristic city being built in Senegal.

Akoin Crypto starts trading and is used for payments in Kenya

The long-awaited cryptocurrency created by Senegalese-American star and philanthropist Akon has been launched and will be used as the primary currency in his $ 6 billion Akon City in Senegal. The akoin (AKN) cryptocurrency began trading against BTC and USDT on the cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex Global on 11 November.

The akoin cryptocurrency was also launched in Mwale Medical and Technology City (MMTC) as a pilot for Akon City. MMTC is a $ 2 billion metropolis centered around a 5,000-bed medical and technology complex located in Kakamega County in Kenya, its website describes.

Julius Mwale, the lead investor at Mwale Medical and Technology City, said in a podcast interview on Blockdown 3.0 that the complex is expected to be fully completed by the end of this year, adding:

We will be using akoin exclusively by the end of 2021.

He explained that there are currently 35,000 residents and over 2,000 merchants, and the akoin cryptocurrency system will be implemented for all of them. He is confident that by the end of next year there will be more than 20,000 workers who will be paid in the akoin cryptocurrency.

1.5 million monthly transactions expected

“We expect to have 30,000 initial transactions starting next month,” Mwale continued. Residents will be able to trade between akoin crypto and large mobile minutes, m-pasa and the US dollar, he explained. After the initial 30,000 transactions in 30 days, a credit card will also be launched so that merchants who accept Visa or Mastercard can accept akoin. The system will then be expanded to facilitate 1.5 million transactions per month. Has elaborated:

This is 5,000 workers for 1.5 million transactions per month after the initial 30,000 [transactions].

Mwale said “People are very very excited” about the project because the city currently uses m-pesa which charges transaction fees. He explained that most people in the area don’t make a lot of money, so the transaction fees are “very expensive for them.”

Conversely, there will be no transaction charges or fees within the akoin ecosystem, Mwale pointed out. “The only charges will come if you go off the net, so people are very enthusiastic, it will save a lot of money.”

Akon City $ 6 billion pilot project in Senegal

Akon, whose full name is Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam, is building a futuristic $ 6 billion Akon City in Senegal, which he calls a “real Wakanda,” referring to the Marvel blockbuster Black Panther. In September, the Grammy-nominated artist unveiled details of what will be in Akon City, specifically in seven major districts.

Mwale explained that “akoin will be the exclusive cryptocurrency for the city of Akon”, adding:

This is the test case for akoin before he moves to the city of Akon, as we will start building there next year to literally transform Africa into a cryptocurrency ecosystem within the next decade.

Mwale explained that the Kenyan government “has literally outlawed cash transactions and any other non-digital transaction, so everything since the Covid-19 pandemic started has been a digital transaction.” He believes the launch of the akoin cryptocurrency has “the best timing … because now everyone has to basically operate in digital transactions”. He concluded: “it was very easy for us to switch to akoin from other digital transactions, m-pesa and other transactions we already have”.

What do you think of the akoin encryption used as a means of payment? Let us know in the comments section below.

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