A group of well-known musicians including Mariah Carey, Marilyn Manson and more has begun accepting the privacy-oriented cryptocurrency monero.
The list of more than 40 top recording artists – Slayer, Weezer, G-Eazy, Sia and Fallout Boy are among those also included – comes as part of “Project Coral Reef,” which was put together by entrepreneur Naveen Jain and monero lead maintainer Riccardo “Fluffypony” Spagni.
The online shopping initiative lets users buy albums and merchandise at a discounted cost, including 15 percent reductions on items from Carey’s store as well as those for Mötorhead, Alice Cooper and others.
Backing up the initiative are Manhead Merchandise and Global Merchandise Services, both of which provide merchandising services for a range of musical artists. Payment processing service GloBee, which counts Spagni as its founder and CEO, is handling the crypto-payment side of the initiative.
“As cryptocurrencies become more popular, it’s important that my fans have choices when it comes to how they buy my songs and merchandise. Given Monero is one of the safest, most secure and most private cryptocurrencies, it’s one of the best options for my fans this holiday season — and just in time for my new album,” rapper G-Eazy said in a statement.
The news represents a decidedly mainstream moment for monero, which was one of 2016’s top-performing cryptocurrencies. And while some in the law enforcement world have cited monero’s privacy-enhancing features as a concern, the cryptocurrency’s public market has continued attracting interest.
As of this morning, XMR was trading at roughly $224 with a market capitalization of roughly $3.4 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Those behind the Project Coral Reef project are betting that the currency’s privacy features will make it more attractive for mainstream users, particularly in light of major data breaches like the one reported by Equifax earlier this year.
“Cryptocurrencies are fast becoming more popular to make purchases, but not all currencies are created equal and not all are as private and secure as people think. Project Coral Reef is a very important step towards the mainstream adoption of monero,” Spagni said in a statement.
Mariah Carey image via Everett Collection/Shutterstock.com
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