In the world of today, we have become surrounded by a plethora of technological advancements, however the most effective of advancements has been the world of cryptocurrency.
Virtual currency, in and of itself, should sparsely exist in a world that works on the pretext of ‘order’ and yet, we find ourselves in the midst of a certain currency that is as valuable as investors will deem it to be. It only sounds crazier by the minute and we are all for it.
However, with such revolutionary ideas, controversy is only a heartbreak away. It is the very same heartbreak of controversy where we find the world’s first LGBT+ cryptocurrency, ironically, find itself.
What Is Maricoin, The LGBT+ Cryptocurrency?
As professed by the founders of the cryptocurrency, ‘Maricoin’, is the world’s first LGBT+ crypto initiative. Essentially, the founders Juan Belmonte and Francisco Alvarez, wanted to provide a significant space in the digital currency universe for the queer community, wherein they feel that it has the potential of turning the tides of the crypto world and raising awareness at the same time.
The existence of the currency is one that is meant to empower the queer community by making it a legal payment method for LGBTQIA+ individuals the world around. The very nature of its synthesis has been to make such individuals be a part of something more than theoretical ideals and it will enable them to spread the basic idea of equality in the majority of the society.
It isn’t entirely new to note that the crypto world is mostly led by cishet people. Thus, having a separate inculcation of the queer community into the crypto universe is a fair indictment to empower the repressed troupe.
The name of the cryptocurrency, ‘Maricoin’, has been adapted as a wordplay on the Spanish homophobic slur ‘Maricon’. Owing to the fact that the founders had initiated a demo run in the Spanish capital of Madrid, by starting a pilot run with 10 businesses from Chueca, an LGBTQIA+ community in the capital.
Having been released on the 31st of December, more than 8000 crypto enthusiasts have already lined up behind it to buy Maricoin before the coin starts trading. As of now, the coin is backed by a Miami based venture capital company called Borderless Capital, and they are sure of the coin picking up.
The initiative has been perceived as Blockchain’s foray into making the ‘pink economy’ visible and the efforts have been commended equally the world over. Owing to Blockchain’s extremely strong security and encryption, it is paramount to note that security infringements have little chance on this network.
Thus, coupled with that fact, Blockchain’s decision to partner up with the cryptocurrency has been measured, to say the least. This will enable them to create a transparent and unified initiative to enable the queer community rally forward with confidence and revolt against injustices.
Also Read: Elon Musk-McDonald’s Joke Creates ‘Fake’ Cryptocurrency Seeing A Jump Of 285,000%
What Caused The Controversy?
The nomenclature of properties or initiatives in the public domain is a fairly strange concept to fathom. More often than not, one can’t help but scrutinize them to the T with the buck always ending at their end to secure. Thus, it was for the nomenclature that the founders were attacked for their decision to go with the name ‘Maricoin’ wasn’t perceived well by much of the world’s denizens.
‘Maricoin’ has been derived from the homophobic slur ‘maricon’, which has been roughly translated and drawn parallels with the English homophobic slur ‘f****t’. This revelation gave rise to an amazing turnout in the way of social media outrage as they voiced their opinions concerning how the name is disrespectful towards the LGBTQIA+ community.
In an equal vein, there came other people supporting the decision of the founders for coming up with the name as they stated that the Spanish word had been reappropriated by gay men when they referred to each other.
A 23-year-old student from Madrid, David Gonzalez, in an interview with Reuters, cleared the air concerning the cryptocurrency’s nomenclature;
“Maricon’ doesn’t work like ‘faggot’. It translates better as ‘queer’. “In Spain, gay guys say it to each other constantly. By reappropriating a slur, we empower ourselves. It wouldn’t be the same if a straight person said it to me, of course, but this is an LGBTI initiative.”
However, the critics were still not quelled as most of them are still on the fence concerning the security aspect of cryptocurrency. They believe that the founders are using the queer community as a part of their apparent ‘Ponzi scheme’.
In all certainty, it is nothing as nefarious as a Ponzi scheme, however, when were human beings ever logical?
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Sources: Newsroom Post, Analytics Insight, The Indian Express
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This post is tagged under: cryptocurrency, crypto, crypto market, maricoin, lgbt, lgbtqia+, queer community, queer, gay, lesbian, asexual, transgender, intersex, economy, controversy, controversies, queer controversy, Madrid, Spanish, spain, finance, financial, ponzi scheme
