Kim Dotcom to launch cryptocurrency

Remember Kim Dotcom? This German-Finnish entrepreneur made headlines in the past as the founder of Megaupload, a website where it was easy to put up illegal content for download.


After some time arguing with authorities, he has now returned and loves to shine his light on recent technological developments. Guess what, he loves cryptocurrencies.

The Internet Party

Kim Dotcom founded a political party in New Zealand, called The Internet Party. Even though The Internet Party is unregistered, it has a clear view on what should be improved in the country. Cheaper internet and more tech jobs are the core elements of what the party stands for. In order to obtain this, they plan on introducing a cryptocurrency for international transactions that would work parallel with the existing New Zealand dollar.

The Internet Party will support the introduction of a New Zealand-sponsored digital currency that is safe, secure and encrypted, providing for instant international transactions at minimal cost. By becoming a digital currency leader, New Zealand can become a key hub for a growing financial sector.

The idea was made public on the party’s website. Immediately after, several prominent New Zealanders had something to say about this idea. While most of them thought it was a bold move, they also pointed out the risks of a project like this. Among these critics was Dr. David Tripe. Tripe works at Massey University in New Zealand since 1994 after spending 17 years in the banking world. He openly dismissed the party’s plan, stating that there was already such a digital currency in existence for the New Zealand dollar. “What tends to happen in these situations is the currencies get a little misaligned with each other and the one that is less reliable drives out the one that is more reliable,” Tripe told Stuff, a New Zealand news website.

Vikram Kumar, Chief Executive of The Internet Party, responded by saying that the new digital currency would fall under the same rules as any official New Zealand currency. “It will be subject to taxation as any currency in New Zealand is. Every transaction involving this new digital currency will be treated the same as New Zealand dollar transactions.” Kumar said.

Bitcoin 2.0

This is not the first time a country plans on introducing their very own cryptocurrency. Just a few weeks ago Auroracoin had his ‘airdrop’, giving every person in Iceland 31.8 Auroracoins. We also saw the arrival of Hullcoin in the city of Hull, the world’s first local government cryptocurrency. A lot can be said about these local digital currency initiatives. Some might say it’s a good move, since local currencies can have a higher chance of succeeding. You only have to convince one government, and China cannot ban you (that last one was a joke; Bitcoin is NOT banned in China).

On the other hand, the idea of new cryptocurrencies does not work well with all the Bitcoin 2.0 talk floating around right now. Just yesterday, CCN posted an article about a new concept called sidechains and how it could revolutionize the virtual currency universe. One thing is certain; the coming months will be crucial for Bitcoin and the altcoins. Whether Kim Dotcom will have a place in this story, remains to be seen. My guess is he’ll have to change his strategy if he wants his ideas to be successful.

source: http://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/news/kim-dotcom-wants-to-launch-his-own-cryptocurrency/2014/04/11

Kim Dotcom to launch cryptocurrency