Kashcoin, cryptocurrency for music biz, launches

Kashcoin, a cryptocurrency (or ‘altcoin’) for the music industry created by ex-Limp Bizkit turntablist DJ Lethal, goes live this week.

DJ Lethal – real name Leor Dimant – and business partner Justin Lally hope to drive mainstream adoption of the Kashcoin with a planned marketplace for merch and records, and say the cryptocurrency will eventually be “accepted at many places across the globe, from music festivals to retail stores”.

“The focus is on merchant adoption,” explains Lally. “Rather than just asking merchants to use Kashcoin, we are working to provide them with the tools to make this happen. If we do most of the hard work, merchants will be able to easily integrate Kashcoins into their existing payment solutions. We are asking merchants to tell us what they need and then respond to that with our development.”

It is not yet clear whether the company will approach other live-focused merchants, such as online ticketing companies, to adopt Kashcoin, although IQ has contacted Lally for confirmation.

“The focus is on merchant adoption. Rather than just asking merchants to use Kashcoin, we are working to provide them with the tools to make this happen”

Argentine secondary ticketing site EntradaFan recently became the first ticketing company to offer customers the opportunity to pay with a cryptocurrency. “We are always thinking about technological innovation,” EntradaFan’s Rodrigo Alvarez told the 2016 International Ticketing Tearbook, “and last year introduced payment with Bitcoin. So far it has been a very satisfying experience.”

The advantages of Kashcoin are the same as those of Bitcoin, the first and best-known cryptocurrency – an encrypted digital currency that operates independently of a central bank – says the company, and mostly include the cutting out of two “unnecessary middle men: banks and governments”. “Because of this, no individual or group has more access to transaction data than the public,” it says, “and without middle men, the costs are fractions of the current standard.”

Pros for buyers include unspecified “special deals and VIP perks”.

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