Akon wants his cryptocurrency to feed the whole of Africa

Akon recently announced that a Kenyan city will work with the new technology behind the cryptocurrency he designed. And it would be the second city after his: Akon City.

The New York Hamptons in Kenya

Akon, the rapper turned crypto entrepreneur who is building an entire city on his behalf in Senegal, today announced that another African city will be running on its cryptocurrency, Akoin.

Akoin, which is currently in beta and will be launched later this year, will feed the medical and technologically advanced city of Mwale (MMTC), a $ 2 billion science and technology center in western Kenya.

MMTC is the analogue of the "New York Hamptons in Kenya", according to a 2018 promotional video that describes the vision of its creator, Julius Mwale. In the center of the city, which houses 35,000 people, there is a 5,000 bed hospital called Hamptons Hospital.

The hospital is surrounded by thousands of homes, resorts, retail outlets and a 36-hole golf course. The plan is to rework all of the city's payment systems, which currently process 50 million transactions annually, to support Akoin.

The dream of a cryptocurrency for all developing countries

"I wanted to create something special for African citizens, especially financially, and give them a currency they can trust and use every day," said Akon, of American and Senegalese descent, in a Zoom call with many journalists present at the Blockdown 2020 virtual conference.

Akon said his dream is that Akoin will be "the future currency for the continent and all developing countries around the world." To kick off the project, Stellar-based Akoin will also feed Akon City from $ 10 billion.

Construction to invest in the city began in March 2019 and is now 85% complete, Mwale said during the Zoom call. From here on there are no limits: "We expect that the Akoin platform will work exclusively for about 70% of Africa," said Mwale.

Akon, real name Aliaume Damala Badara Akon Thiam, told reporters from his Atlanta residence that his aspiration is that Akoin is "the future currency for the continent and all developing countries around the world".

Although those who "voluntarily ceded" their land to Mwale for the construction of MMTC are "now practically millionaires," according to the promotional video, most Africans will not be able to make the most of Akoin right away.

But "my vision of Akoin is the future," Akon said. Once enough people come online, "they will see how easy it is to navigate within the system, and of course this will help integrate it into their lives," he said.

This will speed up adoption, Akon said. But until most of the continent uses smartphones, Akoin's full functionality is reserved only for those residing in the Hamptons in Africa.