Coinye was a coin based on Kanye West that was put underground and then declared dead back in 2014. It was short lived and Kanye West did not like it. Despite it being a hot hot currency for the likes of us millennials who loved cryptos and the jazzy Kanye.
It was launched and killed in January 2014. The lawsuit took so much from Kanye’s pocket ultimately making the creator and Kanye settle on the decision of cutting it.
Coinye was a cryptocurrency developed with the intention of making cryptocurrency accessible to non-programmers. It was created with the intention to sell concert tickets, to do charity work and what not. Following the lawsuit, the logo was altered to make West a cartoon fish (ala “South Park”).
The Coinye site, still invites people to “Start using CoinyeCoin today.”
The makers hoped for West’s blessing, even though they used his name and likeness without seeking his approval. McCord’s lawyer called it,
unfortunate that a parody turned into such an expensive endeavor.
The lawsuit asked for Coinye to make changes, prompting them to change the currency’s logo and open it up to trade a few days ahead of schedule. Coinye lived for less than a week; by January 14, 2014, its creators declared it dead, and three of them ended up settling with Kanye in the court house.
Experts say that:
Bitcoin started 2017 at around the same price as January 2014, but it’s currently worth about 2,000% more than it was last year January price.
That 125,000 Coinye could have been around $1,600, twenty times its original worth.
In fact if Kanye had invested in Coinye rather than cripple-shutting it, he could have made a big fortune out of it. Not to forget his and his entire empires gigantic list of following and lovers worldwide would have shown some serious love to the currency! Making it a big success. And perhaps the biggest currency of all times.
The first celebrity powered or hip hop powered currency it could have been, but alas, it is dead now. It shall RIP.
Tell us if you feel it should have lived? Do you feel this was a violation to Kanye’s identity or theft?
Well, The lawsuit complained that the defendants “usurped West’s name and likeness for the sole purpose of propping up the perceived ‘value’ of the defendants’ ‘digital coin mine’ and its ‘crypto currency.
Team Kanye or Coinye? I like the sound of it. Liked*. :(
