While the legality of cryptocurrency as a legal tender in India is still unclear, rapping artist Raftaar became the first Indian artist to accept cryptocurrency as performance fee. From the details disclosed by the rapping sensation himself, Raftaar will be paid his fee in crypto for a 1-hour virtual event in Canada. He will be performing for a private group of about 100 people in the second week of July.
Details
Rapper, singer & television personality Raftaar recently announced that he will be accepting cryptocurrency in the place of traditional fiat currency as a performance fee for an upcoming event. In this process, he will be the first Indian artist to do something like this.
An ardent admirer of cryptocurrency and blockchain, Raftaar said that the recent development feels like it is a dream come true for him. He credited Ankit Khanna, his longtime partner and his business manager, for creating a situation where he can accept crypto. Further, he also said how he wondered why more artists and managers haven’t been exploring cryptocurrency’s potential.
Also Read: Elon Musk announces Tesla will accept payments for its electric vehicles in Bitcoin
“Why artistes & managers haven’t explored crypto”: Raftaar
After the development, Raftaar was quoted by news agencies saying-
“I’ve always been an ardent admirer of blockchain technology. I’ve always wondered why artistes and managers alike haven’t explored the potential of this disruptive medium.”
“Nevertheless, I’ve finally taken the baby steps in this direction and all the credit goes to my manager, Ankit Khanna for making this dream a reality for me,”
-he further added.
Also Read: Bitcoin drops as Elon Musk takes a U-turn: Tesla to not accept Bitcoin as payment
“Music to be first industry to be disrupted by blockchain”: Ankit Khanna, Raftaar’s Manager
Meanwhile, Ankit Khanna also opined and said-
“In my opinion, music will be one of the first industries to be completely and thoroughly disrupted through the blockchain. The artist can now go directly to the public in every single way without the need of middlemen. Blockchain has the potential to expedite a seamless experience for anyone involved with generating or interacting with music. I’m happy to welcome this new transactional paradigm with my longtime business associate Raftaar who truly is a pioneering voice of this new generation.”
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50 Cent, G-Easy, Sia Early Adopters of Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency is considered to be a currency of future. The peer-to-peer decentralized currency has been in the news since the last few years, owing to bitcoin, world’s biggest cryptocurrency. While it’s going to take years for the currency to be as popular as traditional currency that a shopkeeper to a businessman all use it, it has seen early adaptors in the form of artists like 50 Cent, Sia, Backstreet Boys, G-Easy and more, who accept it as performance fee.
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Recent updates in the world of cryptocurrency
Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency with the highest market cap, has been in the news for the better part of this year due to its sharp surges in value. SpaceX & Tesla CEO Elon Musk has also attributed to its increase in value.
Earlier this year in March, electric-car manufacturer Tesla announced that it will accept bitcoin as payment for its vehicles. This led to a sharp surge in major cryptocurrencies, with bitcoin surging as high as 4% at $56,178. Before that, Elon Musk had also announced that Tesla has invested $1 billion in bitcoin, which led to another bitcoin bullish rally.
However, later this year in May, Elon Musk owned Tesla did a U-Turn and announced how it will not be accepting bitcoin as payment owing to environmental and energy concerns. It should be noted that all bitcoins are ‘mined’, a process where computers perform power and energy intensive computations.
