Even boxer Manny Pacquiao is getting in on the cryptocurrency hype.
According to Entrepreneur Philippines, Global Crypto Offering Exchange (GCOX) based in Singapore announced on Wednesday that Philippine senator and boxer Manny Pacquiao is their newest celebrity ambassador. Pacquiao also invested an undisclosed amount of money in the company.
Cryptocurrencies are digital assets that are a medium of exchange which uses cryptography and not centralized agencies to secure transactions, control and create other units.
The company said Pacquiao will use GCOX’s cryptocurrency services, which will allow his fans, apparently through their social network, to interact through a virtual token called PAC Coin, which will enable users to avail of Pacquiao-related content exclusive to GCOX’s platforms.
The startup claims to be “the world’s first platform that tokenises popularity, enhancing the mainstream adoption of the token economy. GCOX helps celebrities create their personal cryptocurrencies.”
According to GCOX, celebrities and fans exchange through Celebrity Tokens within GCOX. “In this symbiotic ecosystem, ACM is traded for Celebrity Tokens via our proprietary exchange. Celebrity tokens can then be used by fans to redeem goods and services on the core business platforms,” their website reads.
This wouldn’t be Pacquiao’s first investment in Singapore. In 2014, the boxer purchased an undisclosed amount of shares in ONE Championship, a mixed martial arts media company.
Pacquiao is currently serving his first term in the Philippine Senate and, according to Entrepreneur Philippines, was worth PHP3.1 billion (about US$167 million) in 2017.
We hope that Pacquiao’s investment and endorsement of a cryptocurrency venture won’t end as badly as American actor and martial artist Steven Seagal’s endorsement of “Bitcoiin2gen” in the United States. The company was recently ordered to “cease and desist” from offering its first bitcoin by the New Jersey Bureau of Securities due to vague information available about the company and the personalities behind it.
Pacquiao’s camp announced last week that his next match will be on June 24 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, challenging Lucas Matthyse for the WBA welterweight championship, but other parties involved have yet to confirm the date and venue.
