45 Big Name Artists Are Accepting Monero in Their Online Stores This Holiday Season

The cryptocurrency market has grown extensively with Bitcoin’s surge in value but also because of other altcoin projects that are looking to solve real-world problems. One of these altcoins is Monero.

On December 5, Monero announced that their cryptocurrency coin, with the ticker XMR, can be used as a method for people to purchase music, memorabilia, and other kinds of merchandise.  The benefits of using Monero for purchasing such merchandise include discounts when using the anonymous cryptocurrency as a payment method.

Riccardo Spagni, lead developer of the Monero project, said this about the acceptance of Monero as a payment gateway for such purchases:

Cryptocurrencies are fast becoming more popular to make purchases, but not all currencies are created equal and not all are as private and secure as people think. Project Coral Reef is a very important step towards the mainstream adoption of Monero.

There will be 45 artists in total accepting the privacy-focused cryptocurrency, including Mariah Carey, G-Eazy, Motorhead, Sia, Roger Waters, and Fall Out Boy. A complete list of artists and stores accepting Monero can be found here.

The willingness to accept one of the largest anonymous and privacy-focused cryptocurrencies as a payment method in the music industry is due to the Project Coral Reef initiative. This initiative is largely attributed to the Monero community and the efforts of Monero’s lead developer, Riccardo “fluffypony” Spagni to bring a wider geographical set of users to the anonymous cryptocurrency.

The partnership between the payment processor GloBee, Manhead Merchandise and Global Merchandising Services allowed the creation of a new cryptocurrency initiative to provide discounts to its customers and users when using Monero for payment.  

This intiative will, in turn, bring in a new crowd of customers that are interested in claiming the 15% discount or more on their purchases from their favorite musicians.

G-Eazy, a famous rapper and record producer from Oakland, said the following about cryptocurrencies as a payment method for his music:

As cryptocurrencies become more popular, it’s important that my fans have choices when it comes to how they buy my songs and merchandise. Given Monero is one of the safest, most secure and most private cryptocurrencies, it’s one of the best options for my fans this holiday season — and just in time for my new album.

At the time of writing, Monero is priced at US$316 with a vast market capitalization of $4.9 billion, making it the 11th biggest cryptocurrency in the market.

The news of the Monero’s use in the music industry has shown how much the cryptocurrency space as a whole as grown, as it paves its way towards mainstream acceptance.  

Although Monero has caught the attention of law enforcement primarily due to its untraceable transactions, the anonymity-focused digital currency has seen interest and attraction from new investors. The design of Monero, which makes transactions completely private from prying eyes, has been one of the reasons it continues to succeed.  Throughout the course of 2016, Monero grew a stunning 2,760%, making it the best performing cryptocurrency in the market.

It is hoped that the initiative to accept Monero as a payment method in the music industry by select musicians will push the cryptocurrency further into the mainstream and see further acceptance.