Today, Icelanders can collect on their share of available Auroracoins, an e-currency created specifically for Iceland.
Auroracoin creators are claiming on Twitter that 2,600 Icelanders sought to claim their share within the first 12 hours. As promised, the “airdrop” consists of 31.8 Auroracoins for everyone on Iceland’s National Registry today, and will continue over the next four months in accordance with the creators’ blueprint.
As reported, in terms of why Iceland in particular needs its own cryptocurrency, the creators cite the inflation of the króna, currency controls, and the almost total ubiquity of internet use and smart phone or tablet use amongst Icelanders. At the same time, the problems that Auroracoin is supposed to avoid are not necessarily particular to Iceland.
“Of course, the Icelandic financial system was and is fundamentally no different from the financial system in other western countries,” the extended statement on the home page reads in part. “The basic premise of the banking system of the world is the unethical marriage of governments and banks. This unholy alliance is in control of the fiat currencies that people are forced to use in their daily lives. The banks, in effect nothing more than an extension of the government, issue money to fund themselves.”
Auroracoin creators are optimistic about the future value of the currency, saying, “The prospect of the adoption of Auroracoin in Iceland is likely to create a price and value for auroracoins before the [Aurocoin distribution] Airdrop. A higher price may in turn increase the likelihood of the successful adoption and use of Auroracoin by at least a part of the Icelandic population.”
However, the Central Bank of Iceland has warned people not to trust in Auroracoins, or cryptocurrency in general, cautioning, “Neither Auroracoin or Bitcoin are legal tender according to Icelandic law. It is worth remembering that in this country only the central bank has the right to mint money or issue currency which can be used to intermediate the exchange of goods and services, as stated in paragraph 1, article 5 of law number 36/2001.”
If you believe you are entitled to your share of Auroracoins, you can try and follow this link (in Icelandic), although servers have been shakey at the time of this writing.
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