Akon City In Senegal: Everything To Know About Cryptocurrency City And Akoin

A technologically advanced city that is somewhere far from the U.S. where people thrive and trade using nothing but cryptocurrency -- doesn't exist or at least, not yet. But Akon, the singer whose popular "Don't Matter" song hit number one on Billboard back in 2007, plans to make that kind of futuristic city a thing of the present.

The country of Senegal, with close to 49 million acres of land, gifted Akon 2,000 of it via President Macky Hall to pursue what the American of Sengalese descent referred to as Akon City. The exact site is a five-minute drive from a new international airport in the West African state, according to CNN.

Akon announced his upcoming eponymous city over at Twitter, saying, "Just finalized the agreement for AKON CITY in Senegal. Looking forward to hosting you there in the future."

Akon City, however, is not a 2020 thing, the American singer's plan of this city spans a year and a half ago and with the city's exclusive cryptocurrency, dubbed "Akoin," was expected to debut in July 2018.

What is the Akoin all about?

"One Africa, one coin." The cryptocurrency of Akon city seems like it is not going to be confined to the 2,000 acre-land, but the concept behind it is to make it available to 54 countries in Africa as well. It bores a resemblance to Jack Dorsey's plans of integrating crypto to Africa. Still, the difference is that the Twitter CEO fondness for Bitcoin (BTC) takes over, and that's the crypto he envisions for the continent.

What's unclear at this point is there's no white paper yet, as David Canellis of TNW pointed out. So, it's unsure whether it's going to be like Seoul's cryptocurrency, where citizens receive an "S-coin" for paying taxes and answering public opinion polls.

The eventual token/wallet and the MVP launch is scheduled for October 2019 to February 2020, and that includes a whitepaper/explainer video that will perhaps release next month.

"I think that blockchain and crypto could be the saviour for Africa in many ways because it brings the power back to the people... Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology offer a more secure currency that enables people in Africa to advance themselves independent of the government," Akon said at the event held in the French city of Cannes.