Philippine boxing champion Pacquiao launches own cryptocurrency

This article is more than 12 months old

Sep 03, 2019 06:00 am

MANILA: Philippine boxing champion Manny Pacquiao launched his own cryptocurrency on Sunday at a free concert in Manila, where he serenaded more than 2,000 fans to drum up interest in the product.

The 40-year-old boxer, who defeated Keith Thurman to win the WBA Welterweight Super Championship in July and is also a Philippine senator, hopes to cash in on his "Pac" tokens, which will allow fans to buy his merchandise and interact with him via social media.

The Pac token will be listed on Singapore's Global Crypto Offering Exchange (GCOX) and counts Pacquiao and ex-Liverpool and England soccer star Michael Owen as private investors, along with Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed al-Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi's ruling family.

It is the world's first celebrity cryptocurrency.

Tennis ace Caroline Wozniacki, Owen and singer Jason Derulo also plan to launch their own crypto tokens with GCOX.

"We are not here to raise a lot of money but to build an ecosystem," GCOX Founder and CEO Jeffrey Lin told Reuters. - REUTERS