A cryptocurrency firm co-founded by US rapper Ghostface Killah hopes to raise $30 million (S$40.8 million) in a digital coin sale.
Cream Capital said Wednesday it would raise the funds through an initial coin offering (ICO) – a method of crowdfunding that has been met with much scrutiny from regulators recently.
It claims it was co-founded by the rapper, who is a prominent member of hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan.
Ghostface Killah is the latest in a long line of celebrities – from Paris Hilton to Jamie Foxx – who have put their names behind ICOs and crypto ventures.
“I think the interest of celebrities is a bit of a double-edged sword,” Brett Westbrook, chief executive at Cream Capital, told CNBC via email.
Westbrook said that celebrities should be cautious of the influence they have when promoting cryptocurrencies, and should understand the blockchains (distributed ledger technologies) that underpin them.
“I personally think that anything that puts cryptocurrencies in front of the eyes of everyday people is a great thing for the markets overall. On the other hand, I believe it’s important that celebrities know the importance of their endorsements and understand the underlying principles of blockchain technology,” he said.
“The last thing we need is a household name promoting what turns out to be a scam ICO.”
C.R.E.A.M. – OR ‘CRYPTO RULES EVERYTHING AROUND ME’
The name of the firm was inspired in part by Wu-Tang Clan’s hit “C.R.E.A.M.” – which stands for “Cash Rules Everything Around Me.”
“Although in this sense it stands for Crypto Rules Everything Around Me of which we have been granted a trademark by the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office),” Westbrook said.
Cream Capital will be selling off “Cream Dividend” tokens in November; these can be exchanged for Ether, the value tokens of the Ethereum blockchain.
The company said that ICO participants would be protected by a digital coin standard to prevent investors from losing their money.
The virtual coins will also be integrated into debit cards that can be used in any store or other vendor that accepts card payments.
Cream Capital said it has operational cryptocurrency ATMs active in North Carolina and intends to capture “more than half of the global cryptocurrency ATM market” by 2020.
CNBC tried to reach Ghostface Killah for comment but he was not immediately available.
This article was first published in CNBC.
