This Week in Crypto - 3rd Edition

Weekly updates from the cryptosphere!

R&B + Crypto = City in Africa?

R&B singer Akon is at the forefront of a new city in Senegal, a crypto city that is. Akon received 2,000 acres of land as a gift from the President of Senegal, and he has plans to put it to good use. The singer plans on creating a new cryptocurrency, called Akoin which will spearhead all of the transactions in the city that he plans to build using the 2,000 acres of land. Long term plans also include creating an “Akoin Ecosystem” which will aid youth across Africa by using mobile applications that use blockchain for individuals to use to manage their money and make transactions.

Ron Paul Thinks Bitcoin and Gold-backed Currencies can Coexist

Former U.S. Congressman Ron Paul believes that Bitcoin and gold-backed currencies can coexist in a free society. In a recent post for the Mises Institute, Paul argued that the United States is not a free economy because it is controlled by the government and select individuals. Paul believes that to combat the issues faced by the U.S. economy, the U.S. dollar needs to face competition. The former Congressman believes that alternative currencies need to be implemented into the market, and expresses that blockchain technology can be at the forefront of change in the economy.

Ripple Partners with a Leading Bank in India

Ripple announced their partnership with Kotak Mahindra Bank, a leading bank in India. Branches of the bank will begin using Ripple’s RippleNet technology for remittance payments. In a country of over one billion people, remittance payments are extremely popular. Ripple’s technology will allow the bank to cater to their customers while cutting the time and lowering the cost of sending and receiving payments. Other leading banks in India will also be joining Kotak Mahindra in the use of Ripple’s technology to further provide their customers with exemplary services.

Blockchain for Meat

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) in the United Kingdom recently implemented the use of blockchain technology to track meat production and inspection. Representatives for the FSA stated that blockchain technology can be extremely valuable for supply chain situations, as it allows for transparency throughout the entire production process, and also allows for tracking data in an accurate manner.

Out with the old, in with the new! Zug makes voting cool

The Swiss city of Zug recently completed a trial for blockchain based voting, which the city’s government declared as a success. While the technicalities are yet to be released, the city government stated that the use of blockchain technology allows for voting to be “open source” allowing access to everyone to see how the technology was made and use it as well. The government believes that this technology can be good to combat disparities in voting and can also make the process much more transparent.

Any exciting news stories we missed? Let us know in the comments.