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Akon wants to run a Senegal city on cryptocurrency
- barbazoo 6y agoWell, it sure will make him rich.
- m3kw9 6y agoSure, he will be issuing the coins
- grenoire 6y agoThe currency technology that started up with the great benefit of preventing people from being disenfranchised from banking and money ends up being the perfect tool for doing just that.
- tcbawo 6y agoEmpowering people in the same way that company towns did in the early 1900's USA
- beckman466 6y agoCompany towns are slavery by another name
- CynicusRex 6y ago“Then you have these tone-deaf millionaires going around imposing their preferences, like Twitter's Jack Dorsey and Jay-Z investing 500 bitcoin toward bitcoin development in Africa which will supposedly empower its population. Vested interests anyone?” —https://www.cynicusrex.com/file/cryptocultscience.html https://www.cynicusrex.com/file/cryptocultscience.html
- varispeed 6y agoAltruism is a myth. Anyone does something for their personal interest. If a doctor gets satisfaction from helping patients, should we be pointing at a doctor that they have a vested interest?
- quickthrower2 6y agoIf a doctor helps ease a patients pain using a drug whose rep takes them to the opera when a better treatment would route out the cause then yes.
- varispeed 6y agoWhat is the difference? Wouldn't it only matter if the patient was somewhat in disadvantage? I think this practice is widespread and kind of why doctors despite not earning much seem to be happy with how things are. In my country they don't even have to declare any cash and hospitality benefits.
- askonomm 6y agoIn Estonia, my home country, public opinion of doctors in general are pretty bad. They only want to subscribe you pills and never actually treat you and so those with money go towards private clinics to fix their issues. I have anxiety disorder and my publicly assigned doctor flat out refused to allow me a therapist (the general practitioners e.g family doctors are gate-keepers to all actual treatment) and instead insisted on more pills that don't cure anything, but symptoms.
- quickthrower2 6y agoYou get the shitter remedy because the doctor got a kickback. Not sure if I can make it plainer than that.
- varispeed 6y agoCorrect, but isn't that a socially accepted thing? You don't see people protesting doctors being corrupt? Quite the opposite, people praise them. I can't even recall any party that would have tackling this in their program, not even making disclosure of such benefits mandatory...
- bigmattystyles 6y agoI had a Doc Brown moment where upon reading just the headline I just said 'Akon? The singer?'
- imwillofficial 6y ago"GREAT SCOTT!"
- shrubble 6y agoThe 'miracle of Worgl, Austria' would seem to indicate that it might be possible. https://mises.org/library/free-money-miracle https://mises.org/library/free-money-miracle If you don't like the Mises Institute there are many other descriptions. The Austrian National Bank forced the end of the experiment.
- notahacker 6y agoThe Worgl experiment was interesting, but as your link notes, it worked on the precise opposite principle to that claimed about crypto: people were paid in a [municipal] government issued currency which lost value at an unusually high rate at fixed intervals, and the result was that they paid their taxes on time...
- markwkw 6y agoFrom what i read now, this free money in the experiment had a built-in mechanism to prevent hoarding, therefore being quite the opposite to bitcoin in that aspect.
- chris_st 6y agoThe "Flash Forward" podcast did a great episode on Akon's projected cities and similar celebrity projects here [0] (you can listen directly from the webpage without downloading anything). Really enjoy that podcast, well researched and presented. [0] https://www.flashforwardpod.com/2020/05/26/welcome-to-celebrityville/ https://www.flashforwardpod.com/2020/05/26/welcome-to-celebr...
- atlasunshrugged 6y agoThey look like they have some super interesting podcasts in addition to this one, thanks for the recommendation!
- hereme888 6y agoIt's precisely what cryptocurrencies were made for; economy based on math and pre-defined rules, not the whims of corrupt politicians. Being under a country's jurisdiction also seems to give the project legal accountability. I really wish this project success, and hope everything they do is audited properly to prevent corruption. I know this goes agains the general sentiment of HN readers, who seem to dislike cryptocurrencies.
- didibus 6y agoI think the HN sentiment is more that when a coin is managed by a single entity, it's no better than a coin managed by the government, might even be worse. And when you see someone creating a new coin without creating new innovative technology around it, it makes you feel they just want to capitalize for their own profit. So in cases like this I think the devil is in the details. It's possible Akoin is pushed as a fair decentralized, efficient currency that isn't designed to make Akon richer, but it might also turn into a hot mess used to make Akon richer and providing no real advantage to people using it.
- cblconfederate 6y ago> when a coin is managed by a single entity But then they do invest heavily in a company managed by a single person
- koolba 6y agoIt’s both better and worse. Better because there’s no mandate to use it. Worse because the destitute has no representation to ever change anything. I don’t know how this will play out, but his best, IMHO, song is aptly titled “Locked Up”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locked_Up_(song) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locked_Up_(song)
- heavyset_go 6y ago> I think the HN sentiment is more that when a coin is managed by a single entity, it's no better than a coin managed by the government, might even be worse. To me, at least, it's that blockchains are being shoehorned into use cases that are better suited by other technology. In many cases, the blockchain solution is a worse choice technologically and economically. For example, Bitcoin is a poor substitute for electronic payment networks because the network can only handle a few dozen transactions per second. It's also a poor choice economically, because the transaction fees are more than $25 right now. I've seen posts claiming that Bitcoin would be a great choice for people in 3rd world countries, but they don't acknowledge that the fees alone would cost many multiples of whatever goods they're using BTC to buy.
- rvz 6y agoFine. At least someone is doing something for once. Better than screaming or screeching on the street for change. Just actually do it. I cringe at the fact many people blame 'tHE SyStEm' when it will actually never change. A small investment in one of the established cryptocurrency coins, may even go a long way in the future. It's all about what 'tHE SyStEm' doesn't tell you and cryptocurrencies is some how just one of them.
- the_only_law 6y ago> I cringe at the fact many people blame 'tHE SyStEm' when it will actually never change. There have been a number of “systems” throughout history, many of which no longer exist. What makes you so sure that whichever current one you’re referring to will be permanent?
- imtringued 6y agoThe idea of creating a futuristic city in a developing country is noble. The cryptocurrency idea is weird. It is primarily motivated by personal wealth accumulation. In theory the money could be used to fight against corruption and it would be a net gain, but this can only work if you have deep trust in Akon. If there are trustworthy and competent leaders in Africa, then why haven't they been voted into power? It will have the same effect.
- ceilingcorner 6y agoThe cynicism here is tiresome. Akon has done a lot of good for Africa, a place which is plagued by lack of access to financial systems. I hope his project works well.
- dopidopHN 6y agoAnd I don’t see anybody mentioning the pre-pay telecom minute. Those are already a de facto currency in large part of Africa. Meshing that with some crypto seems clever to me.
- tim333 6y agoIn interviews he sounds well meaning but the plans sound a little impractical.
- ceilingcorner 6y agoHis foundation has been in Africa for years. I think his view of whether the plan is impractical or not is more informed than a cynical commenter that has zero experience.
- tim333 6y agoI'm in Africa just now. Have you looked at the plans for his city in Senegal? I'll believe it when I see it.
- arithmomachist 6y agoFrom the Akoin white paper: >Akoin has chosen to only issue 10% of tokens in this public sale. To accomplish this, the remaining token supply will be used to drive adoption amongst merchants/vendors and to bring value to the platform. The total supply of Akoin will be released over the course of 4 years, with 39.41% released after 12 months, 70.12% released after 24 months, 87.25% after 36 months, and 100% at 48 months. This is subject to change with Escrow tokens being placed back into Escrow if they are not needed in the month they are released.Each token allocation is subject to vesting and lock-up periods except for Public Sale tokens which are available immediately. This sounds sketchy as hell.
- bassdropvroom 6y agoDefinitely sounds sketchy, though it still sounds more legitimate than MobileCoin. At the very least Akoin has a timeline of when all the coins will be released, something MobileCoin has so far refused to give.
- tim333 6y agoAt least with MobileCoin you kinda know what you are getting - it's to let you send anonymous payments over Signal, funds raised go to Signal and or it's founders - if you don't like that don't use it. This sounds more like a con where they appear to be charitable but the money all disappears somehow.
- karlerss 6y ago"Driving adoption amongst merchants/vendors" sounds like creating a self sustaining economy. https://youtu.be/YAKOWcs8w54 https://youtu.be/YAKOWcs8w54
- brutal_chaos_ 6y ago> This sounds sketchy as hell. Especially coming after https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9g2szHsoz0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9g2szHsoz0 IMHO.
- tim333 6y agoGosh, they are actually trading https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/kucoin-token/ https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/kucoin-token/ Trading volume $55k Fully Diluted Market Cap $162bn And have a pilot use going shown here https://youtu.be/sxBw2SQ5dCE?t=13 https://youtu.be/sxBw2SQ5dCE?t=13 In the white paper they allocate 15% of coin supply to team and advisors so I guess that's a theoretical $24bn worth of tokens for their trouble, not that they could sell many at those trading volumes. I agree it sounds pretty sketch.
- didibus 6y agoAnyone know what network it'll run on?
- efnx 6y agoStellar, apparently.
- rdxm 6y agolol.....will the bull shit never end?
- tim333 6y agoI'm a little skeptical how well that'll go. Usually what works in Africa and the like is a slightly cheaper and more rugged or simplified version of what works in the west. If they manage to run a Californian city on cryptocurrency and then launch a simplified version in Senegal that might work but it doesn't seem the plan here.
- quickthrower2 6y agoNot sure what crypto adds to this. Just make a local currency, then you can have physical cash as well as digital.
- tootie 6y agoSenegal has a currency. It's a regional currency with several other West African countries and it's pegged to the Euro.
- dopidopHN 6y agoFrom what I seen: crypto provide swap between telecom minute and fiat.
- africanboy 6y agosorry, I don't get it you buy phone credit and that phone credit it's money you don't need crypto for that mobile payments have been a thing in Africa since the 2000s a digital currency doesn't have to be crypto to work I would say that it works better if it isn't
- anteatersa 6y agoFraud is also a thing in Africa, I suppose adding crypto is an attempt to add some transparency/accountability to mobile payments.
- africanboy 6y agoI'm not sure how a self emitted digital coin not backed by any institution or protected by any law could add security from frauds. «Bitcoin: Fake Elon Musk giveaway scam 'cost man £400,000'»
- dopidopHN 6y agoOh sorry. I should have elaborate. People already use telecom minute as money in Africa as a whole. The African diaspora does it abroad as well. ( I’m aware that Africa is a continent, I think it’s a broad practice. Idk, I can only speak for the Maghreb) The use case here is : You cousin pay you back some debt worth 50$ in telecom minute X. You accept, spend some of it. Then realize you need to pay back someone else. That person has no interest in telecom minute X and can only use the Y company. You have to buy brand new Y minute. Few mécanism exists to convert one in another. That particular crypto aims at providing that. If that work and the fee are not outrageous. That would be massively useful. Hope it’s help.
- imwillofficial 6y agoTHIS is peak cypto. Akon faced outrage for dry humping a 14 year old girl, then released a song blaming everyone but himself for the incident. He does not have a track record of good judgment. Edit: Edited incorrect facts.
- monkey_monkey 6y agoI'm absolutely not an Akon fan in any way, but I think you'll need to provide some sort of evidence that he "went to jail for banging a 13 year old", because it seems to me that if that in fact happened, it would be relatively easy to find details via Google.
- worker767424 6y agoFound this on Wikipedia, but there are some very important differences. > In April 2007, Akon drew criticism for an onstage act which included simulated sex with Danah Alleyne — a 15-year-old girl at the time who is the daughter of a pastor and sister of Crime Watch host Ian Alleyne — at the Zen Nightclub in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago as part of a fake contest, despite the club's claim to have a 21 years and over age requirement
- monkey_monkey 6y agoYes, that's a very long way away from going to jail for banging a 13 year old.
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- imwillofficial 6y ago
- camdenlock 6y agoThere’s absolutely no way this could go wrong, eh? My prediction: if it even becomes a successful community, China will eventually take ownership of it. Probably by leveraging Bitcoin, too. Isn’t Bitcoin effectively CCPCoin at this point?
- rkalla 6y agoWhy do you say that? Because of the mining power or other reason? (CCPCoin comment)
- camdenlock 6y agoThe mining power, and the rumors of exactly who owns a majority of the actual bitcoins.
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- atlasunshrugged 6y agoI know this thread is mostly about Akoins but I have serious concerns about the viability of the community itself. Although I'm a big fan of new city development (perhaps even overly optimistic), charter cities, and the like, it really doesn't seem clear to me that the planned city idea is based on a sound premise fundamentally. The designs are absolutely beautiful... and look like a nightmare to implement (and also maybe not great for the local climate) and will be incredibly expensive. The main industry pitched to support the community so far seems to be tourism but Senegal only gets just a bit more than 1 million tourists each year (in comparison, Georgia got something like 111 million generating $37b in revenue). Granted, maybe this will be a huge attraction, but how many are needed to make it viable? Will locals really be able to benefit if they can't afford to buy properties (which seems unlikely for all but the wealthiest)? So, theoretically sounds really interesting and I hope he succeeds but color me skeptical. I also recommend the recent WaPo article on his move in Uganda, I found it revealing. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/04/06/akon-city-uganda/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/04/06/akon-city-ug...
- baobabKoodaa 6y ago> I also recommend the recent WaPo article on his move in Uganda, I found it revealing. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/04/06/akon-city-ug https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/04/06/akon-city-ug... Paywalled.
- nexthash 6y agoThis is so detached from reality I don't even know where to start... A Grammy-nominated singer comes out of nowhere, and decides he will go to an African country to make a futuristic revolutionary city out of nothing powered by... crypto? I seriously can't believe this story has actual traction on here, this is peak crypto, head-in-the-clouds futurism, utopia mentality, and of course complete absurdity. Do people have no sense anymore? The only philanthropy stories I am interested in are the ones where dedicated people of character start from the ground, consider the needs of actual human beings, and work with their representative governments to bring change. Not this technology-will-fix-everything glitzy renders cryptocurrency-upgrades-society hubristic bullshit. People give that crap way too much airtime. Plus, the singer involved seems to have a sketchy history, which makes his intent here even more dubious (probably not doing this out of the kindness of his heart...)
- cwackerfuss 6y agoAkon has been an active entrepreneur in Africa for a while now. He runs a solar company that provides electricity and jobs to Africans who would otherwise just be dependent on charitable giving. This project involving Akoin started in 2018 and he's been working closely with Senegal leadership to make it a success. On the other hand, have you seen Will.i.am's smart watch? It's... Horrible https://youtu.be/5BRbMatqN3c https://youtu.be/5BRbMatqN3c
- nexthash 6y agoIt seems building "smart cities" is a trend now... Saudi Arabia started one, Elon Musk wants to build something like that on Mars, and there's all these ideas of floating cities being passed around. I don't know much about Akon's entrepreneurial record but "smart futuristic city powered by a blockchain in Africa" seems like a huge and mostly imaginary leap from "local solar company". You'd be hard-pressed to come up with the cash to build this in America, so doing it in Africa feels like an unrealistic utopian dream disguising a ploy for money.
- bobthepanda 6y ago
- cjohansson 6y agoAnything with cryptocurrency and/or Rust will be a success (irony)
- seaourfreed 6y agoHopefully he won't be assassinated when Senegal works to keep the value of their currency (West African CFA franc). Intelligence agencies don't mind murdering people as a means, to any end/goal they think is important. Those are the values of intelligence agencies.
- milkrocks 6y agoHe's doing Gods work if he can get blacks to go back to Africa.