Bitcoin and other forms of virtual currency have exploded in popularity online. A new form of currency is about to launch that’s named after Kanye West. While this sounds like something West himself might have dreamed up, the Yeezus rapper is not involved.
The Bitcoin, which was estimated to be worth as much as $1,000 last year, has inspired other forms of currency, including the dogecoin, based on the “Doge” meme, reports The BBC. The West-inspired coin is dubbed “CoinYe West” and will launch in nine days, according to its creators’ Twitter page.
According to Noisey, the coin’s creators threw in references to West’s alleged illuminati connections on their website. The total number of coins for the currency is set at 66,666,666,666.
“Our goal with Coinye West is to make it easier for people to use cryptocurrency,” the creators of the coin told Noisey. “Right now, it's kind of a dark art for people to mine coins. 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.” They added that they are constantly working to make the coin easier to use.
As for why they chose West, they said, “...He is and always has been a trendsetter, and he's always keeping things unique.”
It’s clear that West probably doesn’t have any idea about CoinYe. Last week, the creators asked him if he had even heard of Bitcoins.
@kanyewest Kanye, have you ever invested in bitcoin or litecoin? What do you think of @CoinyeWest ?
— Coinye West (@CoinyeWest) December 31, 2013
There’s been no response from West.
image: CoinYeWest.com