Stellar-based Akoin can now be used to pay for groceries and gas in Kenyan city ๐จ This article is 4 years old...
Stellar-based Akoin can now be used to pay for groceries and gas in Kenyan city
2 min read
Updated: Dec. 20, 2020 at 3:15 pm UTC
In its first step towards the futuristic Akon City, Akoin, the cryptocurrency business that is chaired by global artist Akon, can now be used to pay for goods and services in a west Kenyan city.
As per a release shared with CryptoSlate, the move is part of the businessโs trial run of the cryptocurrency and will see a select group of residents receive their salaries in the AKN token, and will allow them to use the token to pay for food, drink, gas, clothes and medical services in Mwale Medical Technology City (MMTC).
The development follows from an announcement earlier this year that said Akoin would power the $2 billion MMTC project, home to an estimated home to over 35,000 people and thousands of businesses.
Akoin to initially monitor the trial
Akoin and MMTC will be monitoring the trial, which starts later this month, to analyze data, crunch the numbers and prepare for the trial to be scaled up to even more residents in the city in December, before AKN is the only currency used across MMTC in early 2021.
Akoin views the trial as the first step towards rolling out the token to other African cities, and ultimately Akon City, the planned Senegalese city named after the global artist.
Julius Mwale, the founder of MMTC and a New York-based entrepreneur, outlined his vision for bringing the cryptocurrency to his city at last month’s virtual cryptocurrency conference “BlockDown 3.0.”
Transactions during the trial will use atomic swaps to instantly convert currencies, plus an Akoin credit and debit card.
By the end of 2021, Akoin is aiming to serve 20,000 workers at MMTC and be the primary settlement platform for retail stores, worker payroll, airport purchases, and utility payments.
“Ready for the rollout”
Speaking alongside Lynn Liss and Jon Karas, co-founders of Akoin, Mwale said:ย
โWeโre ready for this. Weโve been working week in and week out with the Akoin team. Weโre expecting an initial 30,000 transactions next month (November).โ
Liss added those transactions include those using atomic swaps, plus swapping between AKN and Bitminutes. โWe want to scale it up to 1.5 million transactions per month. We expect the city to complete fully by the end of this year. Weโre working on utility and bill payments. It will be an explosive cryptocurrency city,โ she noted.
Meanwhile, pop star Akon said in a joint statement with Mwale that the platform can make โserious headway in bringing millions of people into the formal economy, which is a critical step for economic growth.โ
The development could not have come at a better time. Just yesterday, the AKN token was released on popular crypto exchange Bittrex Global and already saw trading volumes of over $500,000 across its Bitcoin and USDT trade pairings.
Mentioned in this article
Latest Africa Stories
Latest Stellar Stories
Latest Press Releases
Featured Story
Advertise Here
In this article
Stellar
$0.13228
Stellar is a multi-currency payment backend that tens of thousands of people use every day.
Akoin
AKoin is a new cryptocurrency from visionary changemaker Akon and is the foundation of the AKoin Ecosystem โ a unique global project that offers an abundance of digital and in-real-life platforms and experiences that create opportunity and inclusion for youth entrepreneurs by allowing consumers to buy, hold, and spend cryptocurrency right from their smartphone through […].
As soon as you hear Akonโs voice, you know itโs him! His shimmering, soulful voice has propelled countless hits across genresโfrom pop and R&B to hip hop and dance.