Akon, worldwide phenomena and a personal favorite of this author, has decided to leap head-first into the cryptocurrency world. Akon is going to create his own city in Senegal, Akon City, and the currency is going to be…you guessed it, AKOIN!
“The Akoin ecosystem is intended to be not just a currency, but also a way to establish credit, borrow money, access government services, and more. According to the timeline on the website, an Akoin whitepaper and digital wallet should go live by February of this year.”
This is a 21st century experiment on a 2,000 acre scale. I am pumped. For my more seasoned readers, you’ll remember that I wrote a submission for Publicoin!, which was conceptually a cryptocurrency used by the public to access government services. Akoin appears to take this concept and apply it to all goods and services within the city, Akon City.
From the Akoin website:
“Akoin trusted cryptocurrency for transacting within the marketplace; exchanging into pre-paid minutes and/or local fiat; and a strong (less volatile) currency that holds value.”
There appears to be a premium for a high-demand service like mobile(pre-paid minutes). The mention of a less volatile currency is interesting. I looked up the CFA Franc(Senegal currency) versus the dollar:
The above chart is a five year range. There are definitely some disruptive fluctuations in the conversion rate, though this just compares the Franc to the USD. So far as I have tracked, there is no meaningful correlation between fiat currency exchange and cryptocurrency value. Perhaps this will be an anomaly, but the current data suggests that Ccoins don’t have the ability to stabilize fiat currency. Thus, I’m a bit skeptical that Akoin is going to mediate these fluctuations, and even Akon himself said:
“I come with the concepts and let the geeks figure it out,” he said in 2018.”
What I find interesting about his proposal is that it appears to suggest that public infrastructure will be paid for via Akoin. There are references to solar energy, land, health care, and access to credit. If these concepts come to fruition, it will add further evidence to:
- charter cities
- cryptocurrency application
- business improvement districts
- central planning policy
- Publicoin!
I look forward to the results.
Reason For The Unreasonable 
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