Award-winning musician Akon recently pleaded with his fans on a video-sharing website not to request him to record crypto-related messages. However, in a post on the website, the music producer did not share reasons for his newfound disinterest in cryptocurrencies.
Singer Unwilling to Endorse Crypto
A few years after promoting the futuristic, Wakanda-style city in Senegal, award-winning musician Akon recently pleaded with his fans not to request him to record crypto-related messages. In the plea, shared via Cameo — a platform where celebrities share personalized videos for a fee — the singer did not offer reasons for his apparent disinterest in cryptocurrencies.
A report by Protos however suggested that the celebrity’s seemingly failed crypto-city and the negative publicity surrounding the project could be reasons for his change of heart. As reported by Bitcoin.com News in late 2022, Akon admitted that he mishandled the project. He also promised to reimburse investors holding his token of appreciation.
Project Expected to Be Partially Developed by 2026
However, the controversy surrounding the project deepened after the entity that purchased the land for the proposed city failed to pay the landowners. According to the Protos report, the land had been purchased nearly a decade earlier. Furthermore, the futuristic city’s native cryptocurrency — aikon — has since been delisted from crypto exchanges where it was previously sold.
Despite the mounting problems for the project, Akon has in the past defended it and promised to prove his detractors wrong. For instance, in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in late 2022, Akon insisted that the project was still alive and said he planned to retire in the city. Nearly two years before that Akon’s team similarly promised that the project would take off during the second half of that year.
While the singer now seems less optimistic about the project’s prospects, according to the report, he remains confident that the city will be “partially” developed by 2026.
