MazaCoin
{{short description|Cryptocurrency adopted by Lakota Nation}}
{{Infobox cryptocurrency
| currency_name = MazaCoin
| image_1 = MazaCoin.png
| image_title_1 = MazaCoin logo
| ticker_symbol = MZC
| precision = 10−8
| author = Payu Harris, AnonymousPirate
| white_paper = {{URL|https://mazacoin.org/docs/MAZA-whitepaper-2014.pdf}}
| initial_release_date = {{Start date and age|df=y|2014|02|07}}
| code_repository = {{URL|https://github.com/MazaCoin/maza}}
| forked_from = Zetacoin, Bitcoin
| programming_languages = C++
| operating_system = Windows, OS X, Linux
| source_model = Open source
| license = MIT License
| block_explorer = {{URL|https://mazacha.in}}
| timestamping = Proof-of-work
| block_reward = 250 MAZA (as of September 3, 2021), (halved every 950,000 blocks)
| block_time = 1 minute
| website = {{Official website}}
}}
MazaCoin (Maza, MZC) is a cryptocurrency launched in 2014.{{Cite web|url=http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2014/03/07/lakota-indian-promotes-new-digital-currency-mazacoin/|title=Lakota Indian Promotes New Digital Currency, Mazacoin|first=Paul|last=Vigna|date=March 7, 2014|via=www.wsj.com|access-date=March 25, 2014|archive-date=March 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326000313/http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2014/03/07/lakota-indian-promotes-new-digital-currency-mazacoin/|url-status=live}}
History
MazaCoin was developed by Payu Harris in 2014.{{Cite web |title=He created an indigenous digital currency. The dream is still alive. |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/04/27/1049573/mazacoin-indigenous-digital-currency/ |access-date=2023-11-26 |website=MIT Technology Review |language=en |archive-date=2023-09-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929113148/https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/04/27/1049573/mazacoin-indigenous-digital-currency/ |url-status=live }} MazaCoin was specifically designed for the Oglala Lakota tribe in South Dakota.{{Cite web |last=Browning |first=Lynnley |date=2014-08-14 |title=Tribal Bitcoin |url=https://www.newsweek.com/2014/08/22/tribe-brought-you-custers-last-stand-sitting-bulls-bitcoin-264440.html |access-date=2023-12-24 |website=Newsweek |language=en |archive-date=2023-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231224140248/https://www.newsweek.com/2014/08/22/tribe-brought-you-custers-last-stand-sitting-bulls-bitcoin-264440.html |url-status=live }} Some Native Americans adopted the use of MazaCoin to assert sovereignty against the US Government and independence against the American regulatory system.{{cite web |last1=Jeffries |first1=Adrianne |title=Native American tribes adopt Bitcoin-like currency, prepare to battle US government |url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/3/5/5469510/native-americans-assert-their-independence-through-cryptocurrency-mazacoin |website=theverge.com |date=March 5, 2014 |access-date=September 4, 2017 |archive-date=March 5, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305233930/https://www.theverge.com/2014/3/5/5469510/native-americans-assert-their-independence-through-cryptocurrency-mazacoin |url-status=live }}{{cite web|last1=Consuji|first1=Bianca|last2=Engel|first2=Evan|title=No Country for Cryptocurrency This man thinks "Bitcoin for Native Americans" can solve tribal poverty. So why won't anyone give him a chance?|url=http://mashable.com/2014/09/18/mazacoin-bitcoin-native-americans/#C0p2MnhCmkqo|website=Mashable|date=18 September 2014|accessdate=13 April 2016|archive-date=19 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419134016/https://mashable.com/2014/09/18/mazacoin-bitcoin-native-americans/#C0p2MnhCmkqo|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Landry|first1=Alysa|title=9 Questions Surrounding MazaCoin, the Lakota CryptoCurrency: Answered|url=http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/03/03/9-questions-surrounding-mazacoin-lakota-cryptocurrency-answered-153750|accessdate=13 April 2016|agency=Indian Country Today|publisher=Indian Country Today|archive-date=9 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009111820/http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/03/03/9-questions-surrounding-mazacoin-lakota-cryptocurrency-answered-153750|url-status=dead}} The currency began being used by the Lakota Nation in 2014, with half of its supply reserved by the tribe to minimize the price volatility common in cryptocurrencies.{{Cite web |last=Jeffries |first=Adrianne |date=March 5, 2014 |title=Native American tribes adopt Bitcoin-like currency, prepare to battle US government |url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/3/5/5469510/native-americans-assert-their-independence-through-cryptocurrency-mazacoin |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305233930/https://www.theverge.com/2014/3/5/5469510/native-americans-assert-their-independence-through-cryptocurrency-mazacoin |archive-date=March 5, 2014 |access-date=November 4, 2020 |website=The Verge}}
In October 2017, a Mashable article on the Oglala Lakota included a video about Harris's efforts to increase acceptance of MazaCoin.{{Cite web|url=https://mashable.com/2017/10/09/lakota-in-america-short-film-square/|title=Why Square commissioned this stunning short film about Native American youth|last=Petronzio|first=Matt|website=Mashable|date=9 October 2017 |language=en|access-date=2019-01-06|archive-date=2017-10-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009191826/https://mashable.com/2017/10/09/lakota-in-america-short-film-square/|url-status=live}} In 2017, The Lakota leadership formally recognized MazaCoin as their national currency, but this decision encountered skepticism within the community. The concept of digital currencies, heavily reliant on technology such as apps and smartphones, was less accessible to older generations and those without consistent internet access. To counteract this, a system of paper wallets was developed, allowing MazaCoin to be stored and used in a more traditional, physical format. This system allowed tribal members to use MazaCoin in physical form for transactions within the community, converting it back to digital format at the centralized facility.
By 2022, Harris had begun to pitch the coin across the tribe and help educate members on setting up wallets. He noted that interest in the coin had increased as cryptocurrency began to enter the mainstream.
References
{{reflist|30em|refs =
}}
Further reading
- [https://journals.uic.edu/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/6955 Indigenous cryptocurrency: Affective capitalism and rhetorics of sovereignty] in First Monday (3 October 2016, Volume 21, Number 10) by Cindy Tekobbe and John Carter McKnight
- [https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/canadian-journal-of-law-and-society-la-revue-canadienne-droit-et-societe/article/decolonization-in-a-digital-age-cryptocurrencies-and-indigenous-selfdetermination-in-canada/80BC228A3F4F165924D11F887021659C Decolonization in a Digital Age: Cryptocurrencies and Indigenous Self-Determination in Canada] in Canadian Journal of Law and Society (1 April 2017, Volume 32, Issue 1, pp. 19–35) by Christopher Alcantara and Caroline Dick
External links
- {{official website}}
{{Cryptocurrencies}}
{{Portal bar|Internet|Economics|Free and open-source software}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Cryptocurrency projects