LOCAL LINK TO SUMMIT
Potcoin, A Montreal-founded Cryptocurrency, got a boost after former NBA player Dennis Rodman wore its logo on A T-shirt in Singapore on Tuesday. Jacob Serebrin explains.
Pictures of Dennis Rodman wearing a T-shirt promoting a cryptocurrency as he arrived in Singapore for the summit between American President Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un have been described online as “peak 2018.”
But it’s not the first time the former NBA player has promoted Potcoin, a Montreal-founded cryptocurrency. Almost exactly a year ago, Rodman was spotted wearing a Potcoin T-shirt as he arrived in North Korea — a visit sponsored by the cryptocurrency.
Potcoin was started in 2014 by three Montreal entrepreneurs — all of whom have now left the project — who claimed it was intended to be a currency for the legal cannabis market.
Cannabis businesses in U.S. states where it’s legal have been unable to access the mainstream banking system because the drug remains illegal under U.S. federal law.
However, there’s no sign the cannabis industry has adopted the cryptocurrency either for retail or business-to-business transactions.
In 2014, Potcoin said more than 40 businesses accepted the cryptocurrency. By 2016, that had declined to 12.
Potcoin’s website no longer lists businesses where it is accepted.
That lack of acceptance means it’s less useful than more popular cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, that have all the same advantages of being able to conduct digital transactions outside the mainstream banking system, according to cryptocurrency experts.
However, Potcoin is traded on online cryptocurrency exchanges.
The day it came out that Potcoin sponsored Rodman’s 2017 trip to North Korea, its value increased 35 per cent.
The next day, the currency had dropped in value more than 20 per cent, after people pulled their money out.
That has led to allegations that some of the people behind Potcoin were engaged in a “pumpand-dump” scam — promoting the cryptocurrency in an effort to increase its value so they can cash out.
While Potcoin was up 24 per cent early on Tuesday afternoon, with one Potcoin trading at just under 10 cents U.S., it reached 18 cents U.S. on June 13, 2017 — the last time Rodman, Potcoin T-shirt and North Korea shared a headline.