Boxer, senator, and almost deity in the Philippines, Manny Pacquiao, launched his cryptocurrency during a free concert in the country’s capital Manila, where he sang ballads from his album for a 2,000-strong crowd. The new tokens, named Pac, will allow his fans to buy merchandise and purchase time to communicate with their idol on social media. As the tech outlet Hypebeast points out, the boxer, who became WBA welterweight champion this July, is the first athlete to get his own digital currency.
The Pacs will be listed on Singapore’s celebrity-centered Global Crypto Offering Exchange (GCOX), whose investors include Pacquiao, former English football team star Michael Owen, and member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed al Nahyan. Owen plans to follow suit and release his cryptos for fans, the report says. It also mentions that Danish tennis ace Caroline Wozniacki and American singer Jason Derulo are expected to issue tokens via the same platform. However, as GCOX founder Jeffrey Lin says their goal is to build an “ecosystem” rather than raise money.
“In GCOX’s vision of the future, the multi-trillion-dollar entertainment industry will become inextricably entwined with the ever-expanding world of blockchain, leveraging the mass appeal of celebrities to accelerate the mainstream adoption of blockchain”, he said, as cited by Hypebeast.