One of the latest cryptocurrency news in the past week is the launch of the first LGBT+ cryptocurrency called Maricoin last Friday, December 31st, 2021 in the capital of Spain, Madrid. This pilot–test is set to last one week in the city particularly in the neighbourhood of Chueca that is considered the home of the LGBT+ community in the capital.
The name Maricoin was coined through a play on words from the homophobic Spanish slur, maricón. It is currently backed by Borderless Capital, a venture capital firm based in Miami, Florida.
As of now, the soft launching only involved 10 local businesses but the backers of the coin hope that trading will be possible by early 2022. In a recent interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation posted on December 31, 2021, Juan Belmonte, the co-founder of the token, stated that this crypto aims to ‘change the world’. One of the ways they plan to do this is by using the token itself as legal tender for transactions with businesses around the world that support the LGBT+ community.
They can identify which businesses support their community and cause by checking to see if they have signed an ‘equality manifesto.’ Those who have signed will be listed in Maricoin’s map which will also serve as a guide for the LGBT+ people so that they would know which establishments support the token around the world.
Stated in the manifesto are rules or points of the token one of which is to defend the rights of the LGBT+ community as well as everyone who is experiencing alienation. If an establishment breaks any of the points stated in the manifesto, it will be removed from Maricoin.
Additionally, the 48-year-old hairdresser and entrepreneur stated in the same interview that since the LGBT+ community moves the economy, why shouldn’t they earn profit instead of big corporations such as banks and insurance companies that often don’t help the community.
The launch proved to be a success with 8,000 people already in line to buy Maricoins before it became available for trading.
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