Digital cryptocurrency platform Monero has launched “Project Coral Reef,” an initiative aiming to allow millions of music fans to use Monero to purchase music and merchandise at discounted prices this holiday season. Over 35 iconic music artists, ranging from Weezer to G-Eazy, Morrissey to Mariah Carey, are taking part in the Project.
“Privacy is a basic human right, but that right is being eroded as the companies we trust — banks, payment processors, credit card issuers and other players in the stream of commerce — are hacked or sell our information to the highest bidder,” indicated Naveen Jain, a music industry veteran. “Projects such as Monero are important defenders of our basic right to privacy, especially as we shop this holiday season. Consumers using Monero can trust that their transaction information will not be hijacked by thieves or commoditized by data brokers.”
Project Coral Reef is a Monero community-driven effort to raise awareness and generate mainstream adoption of one of the world’s top secure and private cryptocurrencies created by Jain and Riccardo Spagni, the lead maintainer of Monero.
[clickToTweet tweet=”.@NaveenSpark @fluffypony discuss #music @monerocurrency #ProjectCoralReef #XMR @fintechinsider_ @crowdfundinside” quote=”“Privacy is a basic human right, but that right is being eroded as the companies we trust — banks, payment processors, credit card issuers and other players in the stream of commerce — are hacked or sell our information to the highest bidder,” indicated Naveen Jain.”]
“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,” said Riccardo “fluffypony” Spagni. “For the first time, consumers around the world can use Monero to securely and privately buy their favorite artists’ music and merchandise.”
Key partners supporting the initiative include payment processor GloBee, music merchandising companies Global Merchandising Services and Manhead Merchandise and platinum-selling music artist G-Eazy.
“As cryptocurrencies become more popular, it’s important that my fans have choices when it comes to how they buy my songs and merchandise,” said G-Eazy, the Billboard chart-topping rap star from Oakland, California. “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.”
Monero, an open-source and decentralized cryptocurrency, was reportedly created by a community of global developers, cryptographers, researchers and economists. The digital currency is a highly scalable monetary system that is completely private and secure. Unlike purchases with credit cards or fiat currency, Monero’s privacy features prevent third parties from targeting, hacking, harvesting and re-selling consumers’ financial data based on their transactions. Partnerships with forward-thinking companies like Global Merchandise Services, Manhead Merchandise and iconic artists represent the potential for a turning point for Monero and privacy-focused digital currency.
“Our focus is to create the best environment for fans to engage with their favorite artists’ merchandise and licensed products,” added Christopher Drinkwater, Head of e-commerce for Global Merchandising. “With the emergence of cryptocurrencies as an increasingly popular way for consumers to purchase goods, it makes sense that we partner with a trusted digital currency such as Monero to allow fans to transact with artists in a way in which they have never been able to before.”
Monero employs state-of-the-art technology such as stealth addresses to provide unlinkability; ring signatures to provide plausible deniability confidential transactions to provide transaction privacy; and, soon, Kovri which will provide network-layer anonymity. These technologies aim to make Monero different from cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, where transaction information is publicly available on the blockchain.
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