Musician Akon Accelerates Plans to Build Crypto City in Senegal Despite Problems
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Loading... - Ousmane Diallo
- 24 Apr 2023
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My goal is to try to build something that people deem impossible in Africa,” he said.
The Senegalese-American musician and millionaire Akon is still moving forward with his quixotic quest to build a city named - yes - “Akon City” in Senegal that will run on a cryptocurrency named “Akoin.”
Originally announced in 2018, Akon planned to create a $6 billion city for Africans relying on the new digital payment method. Today, the value of Akoin, however, has plummeted to around $0.012, after being valued at $0.28 in September 2021, when it was first launched on the BitMart crypto exchange.
Senegal does not recognize cryptocurrency as legal tender, but that has not dissuaded Akon from pushing full steam ahead with the project. "I want to make sure that however we involve crypto within the city is in a way that it lines up with all the rules and regulations,” Akon recently told BBC. "I plan to retire in that city," Akon said. "I don't like to use the word[s] ‘the king of the city.’ But that's what it will turn out to be."
Akon, however, conceded his plans for the city were hasty and Covid-19 derailed the project, which still hasn’t gotten off the ground. He also commented on what he would have done differently: "I would have gotten more things in place before promoting it,” he said. "It wasn't being managed properly," he added. "I take full responsibility for that." Read More…
