Akon – who has twelve Billboard Top Ten Hits to his name, including the popular single “Smack That” – spoke out during the interview in favor of decentralization and trustless blockchain-based mechanisms that underpin the value of cryptocurrencies.
Grammy award-winning music artist Akon has rebuffed Bitcoin naysayers who claim that the asset lacks intrinsic value.
In a radio interview published on Sept. 10, Akon lambasted the perception that fiat currencies are any less vulnerable to this same critique, arguing that:
“Nothing backs the dollar. The U.S. doesn’t have natural resources that back the dollar. What they do have is the military.”
People give cryptocurrency value, not governments
National fiat currencies have long ceased to be backed by physical commodities or natural resources, he noted, going on to argue that the United States dollar is ultimately sustained only by convention and military might.
He is bullish on cryptocurrency, he revealed, because it’s the people – not the vested interests of national governments – that wield control over their value.
The rapper’s comments come as his cryptocurrency project for a pan-African digital currency to replace fiat currencies, dubbed Akoin, gathers pace.
As Cointelegraph has previously reported, Akon had first revealed the initiative in the context of a Senegalese smart city project back in June 2018, arguing at the time that crypto can empower African citizens and bring security to the continent’s currency system.
A peace prize for Satoshi
Akon’s fresh endorsement of cryptocurrency chimes with the perspective of American investor Morgan Creek Digital Assets co-founder Anthony Pompliano, who recently argued that Satoshi Nakamoto should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for inventing Bitcoin.
Pompliano said that with Bitcoin, we finally have “a currency that can assume global reserve status without anyone having to engage in violence.”
Europol Shuts Down Counterfeiting Ring Which Sold $1.44M for Bitcoin
Portuguese police and Europol have seized funds worth €70,000 ($77,200) in what they describe as one of the most advanced counterfeiting operations ever seen.
€1.3M fake notes sold since 2017
As Brazilian daily news outlet Sputnik and others reported on Sept. 10, law enforcement succeeded in bringing down the ring, which sold fake notes on the dark web in return for Bitcoin.
In action since 2017, the operation created €1.3 million in fake money. The leader, from Portugal, was found and extradited from Colombia this week.
According to police, the notes were some of the best quality forgeries they had encountered, bearing features such as watermarks and holograms.
“Often they are only detected when entering bank deposits. In terms of normal trade, they are banknotes that pass quite easily”, police investigation coordinator, Luís Ribeiro, said in a statement quoted by Sputnik.
Swapping easy money for hard money
The news is conspicuous for highlighting the perpetrators’ preference for unforgettable hard currency – Bitcoin – over printable fiat.
It is the second cautionary tale to emerge from Europe in recent weeks, after alarm at the discovery of fake gold bars in the vaults of some of the best-known institutions worldwide.
As Cointelegraph reported, around 1,000 spurious bars have been discovered, but experts fear the complete supply is much larger.
“Bitcoin fixes this”, Francis Pouliot, founder of Canadian Bitcoin consumer platform Bull Bitcoin, subsequently commented, alluding to the ability of individuals to verify Bitcoin transactions by running a full network node.
