Kanye West-inspired virtual currency to launch next week
A virtual currency inspired by Kayne West -- but not endorsed by him -- will launch a week today. Seriously.
This whole virtual currency thing is getting a bit silly. And if you disagree, just look at the latest one to emerge -- it's "inspired by" Kanye West, though the rapper has had nothing to do with it and is yet to comment on it. It's called Coinye West.
It'll launch on 11 January -- that's a week today -- though the people behind it want to stay anonymous in case Kanye gets annoyed. They told Noisey "he really isn't someone we want to p*ss off."
Coinye West will be a "cryptocurrency for the masses" they say. Their aim? To make it easier for people to use cryptocurrency. "Right now, it's kind of a dark art for people to mine coins," they say. "We plan on releasing a front end to the 'mining' programs called CoinyeMiner. It will make things a lot more simple and people will be able to make their own coins."
Following the success of Bitcoin, a few virtual currencies have sprung up, including Litecoin, Namecoin, and Dogecoin, which was based on a meme.
So why Kanye? The people behind Coinye West say "he is and always has been a trendsetter, and he's keeping things unique." (He also thinks he's god, Nike and Google all rolled into one.) The currency will be used to buy concert tickets, with crytographically-verified virtual tickets, and some other ideas its creators are yet to divulge.
The people behind Coinye West will be giving away some of the currency at launch, though they don't say how much. They're also offering Kanye 100,000 COINYE if he endorses it. Watch this space.
Do virtual currencies have a future? Or are they destined to stay banished to the darker corners of the Internet, reserved for more sordid purchases the buyer doesn't want tracked? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook page.