Bitcoin may have garnered plenty of interest this year, but altcoins are stepping up to the plate, offering their services in a bid to become more mainstream. One of which is Monero.The privacy-focused digital currency revealed Tuesday that it is providing a new online shopping initiative, enabling music fans to purchase merchandise from 45 artists, including Mariah Carey, Motorhead, G-Eazy, Fall Out Boy, and Toby Keith.Monero’s Project Coral Reef initiative is a community-driven effort designed to bring more awareness to Monero’s secure and private system, reports Billboard.Launched in partnership with payment processor GloBee, and Manhead Merchandise and Global Merchandising Services, both of which are music merchandising companies, the initiative will provide discounts to customers, including 15 percent from Carey’s store.In a statement, G-Eazy said:
"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 safest, most secure and most private cryptocurrencies, it’s one of the best options for my fans this holiday season"
The news signals a significant moment for the ninth-placed digital currency. According to CoinMarketCap, the XMR token is currently trading at $236, with a market cap valued at $3.6 billion.Yet, despite the fact that the cryptocurrency is becoming more attractive to criminals because of its anonymity features, that hasn’t stopping it from gaining more mainstream interest. In the last seven days, its value has risen by 26.10 percent, whereas over the previous 24 hours, it has increased by 20.50 percent.It’s hoped that the initiative will push Monero into becoming a more mainstream currency that can also be used to make purchase payments, possibly becoming a competitor of the number one digital currency, bitcoin.Speaking about the potentials that the digital currency market holds, Riccardo ‘Fluffypony’ Spagni, Monero’s lead maintainer, said in a statement:
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. For the first time, consumers around the world can use Monero to securely and privately buy their favorite artists’ music and merchandise.
It also makes it an interesting way for music fans to interact with their favorite artists, creating an interactive environment for all those concerned, while ensuring their privacy at the same time.