Spanish LGBT token responds to critics, says it expects listings soon

The MariCoin project was among 10 projects chosen for the Algorand Foundation accelerator program in November 2021.

Spanish LGBT-related token MariCoin (MCOIN) has responded to the community following skepticism around the project’s concept and goals.

Some had even criticized the project for its name, which played on a homophobic slur in Spanish. But according to key people in the project, they have simply misunderstood. 

MariCoin CEO Francisco Alvarez told Cointelegraph that the project’s name is about “turning an insult into a fortress,” referring to peculiarities of tackling homophobic language as the very word word “gay” is still being used as an insult in some communities.

“In Spain it is very common for members of the gay community to call themselves ‘Maricón,’ so Juan, an active member of the community, thought MariCoin was a fantastic name for a cryptocurrency that would unite the whole community,” Alvarez said.

The CEO noted that the MariCoin project has “found a generalized acceptance” of over 90% in other Spanish-speaking countries like Argentina, Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, Uruguay, Ecuador, and others. “Although we must work on that other 10% that does not share our vision,” he noted.

According to MariCoin co-founder and president Juan Belmonte, the project expects to list its Algorand-based token on crypto exchanges supporting the Algorand blockchain on Jan. 31.

“We have been in talks since September 2021, as we have announced, to list on Binance. Our CTO is working on the white paper and we will have the first version ready next week,” Belmonte told Cointelegraph.

He also noted that MariCoin has closed their waiting list at 10,000 “Maricoiners,” as committed in their roadmap. “Due to the avalanche of mails, we have had to open a second list to reserve the coin at the starting price of $0.025, starting next January 31,” the executive added. Some people in the community previously were skeptical about MariCoin’s waiting list for investing via Google Forms.

Related: New LGBTQ token aims for equity but raises red flags with community

Belmonte also mentioned that MariCoin was selected for the Algorand Foundation accelerator program in Miami last year, with support from blockchain investment firm Borderless Capital. Apart from MariCoin, the accelerator also selected 9 other startups including Latin American digital bank NeoMoon, blockchain game Alchemon, nonfungible token platform Dartroom, and others.

The Algorand Foundation and Borderless Capital did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.