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[ThatHawaiiGuy]

Native American reservation develops it’s own local ‘Crypto-Currency’

By John Vibes | January 5, 2013 | 2:20am EST
A reservation has created their own rendition of Bitcoin to trade locally and circumvent federal regulators
BTC Oyate Initiative Project Lead, Payu Harris (left), shares his thoughts on the Project, Bitcoin and how Native communities could benefit through the Bitcoin community. (Photo: Youtube/igmpro.com)

BTC Oyate Initiative Project Lead, Payu Harris (left), shares his thoughts on the Project, Bitcoin and how Native communities could benefit through the Bitcoin community.
(Photo: Youtube/igmpro.com)

RAPID CITY, SD (INTELLIHUB) — Bitcoin, and Crypto-Currencies in general are very controversial topics that have been receiving a great deal of mixed reviews in the media recently.

Following Bitcoin’s explosion in value, a wide range of alternative Crypto-Currencies have sprung up to create the first free market in banking and currency. Regardless of ones opinion on the subject, it is an interesting experiment to see everyday people creating their own currencies at a rate that has never been seen before on this planet.

While this free market has produced some ridiculous concepts such as Dogecoin and Coinye West, the freedom for people to create their own currencies has incredible potential. For example, one Native American tribe in South Dakota has decided to create their own currency, and its creators believe that it could reduce poverty on the reservation.

The tribe’s currency, the MazaCoin “will be as simple & easy to use as BitCoin of which it is a fork custom designed for the socio-economic needs of the Oglala Lakota,” according to the MazaCoin Twiiter account.

Payu Harris, the tribal council representative for the Oglala Lakota Nation is one of the main representatives for the BTC Oyate Initiative Project. According to its website the project is an “exciting chance for Bitcoin to prove its market viability as a means of trade, identify potential pitfalls and security challenges, and showcase its availability as a merchant-payment solution for small business and entrepreneurs,”


“We’re estimating the initial price on the going market of copy.25, which gives us a $2 billion market capitalization,” Harris told KOTARadio.com.

“…I would like to extend a hand to the city to see if we can work in conjunction with each other to establish a proper tax regulation,” Harris added. “Some of the people using this currency will be in Rapid [City]. I think this is an excellent opportunity for additional revenue for the city.”

“The btc generated will be forwarded to the second aspect of the project which is Crypto Currency Exchanges and trading and will be used to help train beginning Native American traders on the basics of cryptocurrency trading, futures contracts, market strategy, CC pairs, and more,” states the Oyate Project description. “Also lastly the project aims to produce a massive promotional campaign aimed at small business owners to help facilitate their acceptance of bitcoin as a viable means of payment for goods and services.”

Harris believes the Bitcoin can become the Nation’s primary means of trade and exchange, and alleviate poverty in a community insulated from big bank-controlled federal regulators, Indian Country reported.



Sources:

[1] Can Bitcoin Alleviate Poverty on the Pine Ridge Reservation? Tribe Pursues its Own ‘CryptoCurrency’ – Indian Country

http://intellihub.com/2014/01/05/native-american-reservation-develops-its-own-local-crypto-currency/