Coinye

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Coinye

Official logo
Date of introduction January 7, 2014
User(s) International
Inflation Limited release, production rate before this limit re-evaluated with the production of every block (at a rate of approximately 1 block per 90 seconds) based on the difficulty with which COINYEs are produced, eventually leading up to a final total of 133,333,333,333 coins.
Nickname CoinYe
Plural COINYE

Coinye, formerly Coinye West, is a scrypt-based cryptocurrency that used the American hip hop artist, Kanye West as its mascot despite West having no affiliation with the project.[1][2] The project has since been abandoned by the original developers following West's filing of a trademark infringement lawsuit against them, though the network itself remains somewhat active.[3]

The premise for Coinye West according to a Vice magazine interview with its creators is to simplify cryptocurrencies for the general public,[4] specifically for people that are not technically inclined,[5] and chose to base their coin on Kanye West because "he is and always has been a trendsetter, and he’s always keeping things unique.”[6] The coin has been compared to Dogecoin due to its seemingly satirical nature.[7][8]

Early press materials promised a proper and fair release, with no pre-allocation of coins.[9] However, later statements from the developers confirmed that approximately 0.37% of the maximum money supply of Coinye had been reserved for the creators of the coin before launch.[10] The developers claimed that this was to cover unexpected legal and development costs.

On January 14, 2014, a representative of Coinye announced on Reddit that "the developers basically dumped all their coins on the one exchange and left the scene."[11][12] Coinye's official site has since been replaced with text reading "Coinye is dead. You win, Kanye."[13]

Although the creators of the project closed down all official Coinye services and have distanced themselves from the parties they labeled “morons trying to revive this coin,”[14] the peer-to-peer coin network is still operational and a group of volunteers has claimed that they will continue development on the coin.[15] As of February 2014, no updates to the Coinye source code appear to have been released since the original developers' departure.[16]

Trademark infringement lawsuit

On January 6, 2014, Kanye West's lawyers sent the development team a cease and desist order on the basis that the then-unreleased currency constituted trademark infringement, unfair competition, cyberpiracy and dilution.[17][18] In response to the legal threats, the development team released the source code and mining software five days early, in addition to changing the name of the currency to Coinye and moving to a new domain name.[19] By January 10, 2014, the development team stated that they had removed all references to West but instead "to a half-man-half-fish hybrid," a nod to a South Park episode in which West fails to realize why people are jokingly calling him a "gay fish."[20] These actions were not sufficient to appease West's legal team and a lawsuit was filed against the creators of the coin, prompting them to sell their Coinye holdings and leave the project.[21]

References

  1. ↑ Yannick LeJacq (2 January 2014). "Oh Yeezus! Cryptocurrency gets hip with Kanye-inspired 'Coinye West'". NBC News. Retrieved January 2014. 
  2. ↑ Adam Gauntlett (3 January 2014). "Bitcoin Rival Coinye West To Launch This Month". The Escapist. Retrieved January 2014. 
  3. ↑ Winograd, David (1/14/2014). "Kanye Sues Coinye, and The Cryptocurrency’s Creators Back Down". TIME. Retrieved 1/16/2014. 
  4. ↑ Ryan Bassil (2 January 2014). "Screw Bitcoin and Dogecoin, There’s a Kanye West Themed Cryptocurrency On The Way". Noisey. Vice Media. Retrieved January 2014. 
  5. ↑ Evan Bleier (3 January 2014). "Kanye-inspired currency, Coinye West, will debut later this month". United Press International. Retrieved January 2014. 
  6. ↑ Maria Tadeo (3 January 2014). "Kanye West gets his own virtual currency...The Coinye West". The Independent. Retrieved January 2014. 
  7. ↑ Jessica Roy (2 January 2014). "Kanye West Now Has His Own Cryptocurrency and It’s Called Coinye West". TIME. Retrieved January 2014. 
  8. ↑ David Gilbert (2 January 2014). "Kanye West-Inspired Bitcoin Alternative Coinye West to Launch Next Week". International Business Times. Retrieved January 2014. 
  9. ↑ Clark, Liat. "CoinYe West: a new cryptocurrency for the masses and ode to Kanye". Wired. Retrieved 1/8/2014. 
  10. ↑ Vega, Danny (1/8/14). "Coinye West: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy. Retrieved 1/10/14. 
  11. ↑ "Monday Updates". Retrieved 1/14/2014. 
  12. ↑ Newton, Casey. "Coinye developers say they're abandoning project as Kanye West escalates legal battle". The Verge. Retrieved 1/16/2014. 
  13. ↑ "coinyeco.in". Retrieved 1/14/2014. 
  14. ↑ Rizzo, Pete. "Kanye West’s Legal Team Take Down Spoof ‘Coinye’ Altcoin". CoinDesk. Retrieved 1/17/2014. 
  15. ↑ http://frontpage.fok.nl/nieuws/634392/1/1/50/upd-interview-coinye-initiatiefnemers.html
  16. ↑ "coinyecoin software". Github. Retrieved 2/6/2016. 
  17. ↑ Rose, Brad. "Infringement of KANYE WEST Mark and Other Violations". Pryor Cashman LLP. Retrieved 1/8/2014. 
  18. ↑ Kyle Chayka (7 January 2014). "Bound 2 Happen: Kanye West Demands Coinye Programmers Shut Down the Digital Currency". TIME. Retrieved January 2014. 
  19. ↑ Danny Yadron (7 January 2014). "Kanye’s Lawyer Moves to Block Coinye". Digits. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 2014. 
  20. ↑ Adi Robertson (10 January 2014). "Coinye responds to Kanye complaint, says currency now based on 'half-man half-fish hybrid'". The Verge. Retrieved January 2014. 
  21. ↑ Newton, Casey (14 January 2014). "Coinye developers say they're abandoning project as Kanye West escalates legal battle". The Verge. Retrieved 2/6/2014. 
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