Digital asset markets have risen to the crest of a Trump victory; on election night bitcoin hit a record of over $75,000. Crypto-linked stocks such as Coinbase and MicroStrategy also surged in the wake of Trump’s win.
In July this year, in Nashville, Trump gave the keynote address at the biggest Bitcoin conference of the year. Thereupon, he pledged that he would ensure the federal government never sells off its bitcoin holdings.
“For too long our government has violated the cardinal rule that every Bitcoinerknows by heart: Never sell your bitcoin,” Trump said during his keynote speech.
“If I am elected, it will be the policy of my administration, United States of America, to keep 100% of all the bitcoin the U.S. government currently holds or acquires into the future,” he said.
This may bode well for Uganda, in view of events in the last few years.
Akon’s Promise
In 2021, Senegalese musician and businessman Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam, known as Akon, came to Uganda to meet President Yoweri Museveni.
After a meeting of minds between the president and the singer, the Ugandan government parcelled out 640 acres of land in Mukono district to clear the way for the creation of Akon City.
This city is supposed to be a real-life Wakanda - a high-tech metropolis powered by solar energy and the Akon’s cryptocurrency, Akoin.
To this end, over 100,000 people were displaced in Buleebi, Sango, Mbazi, Kyazi, Lulagwe, Muvo, Kiziru, and Kamwanyi villages of Mukono district. Akon City isscheduled to be completed by 2036.
Uganda’s economic boon
If Akon City sees the light of day and becomes a reality in Uganda, it could serveas a Satellite City for America’s surging crypto market.
According to economists, the economic surge in the crypto market in America could work as a “mono-centre”, which facilitates satellite cities around this centre.
Theoretically, one large central point [America] operating in tandem with Akon City in Uganda will create economic linkages along a core-periphery pattern.
This will bring the US and Ugandan economies into closer harness, a potential boon for both economies.
What is cryptocurrency?
According to Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States in terms of trading volume, “Cryptocurrency is typically decentralised digital money designed to be used over the internet. Bitcoin, which launched in 2008, was the first cryptocurrency, and it remains by far the biggest, most influential, and best-known. In the decade since Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum have grown as digital alternatives to money issued by governments.”
The total size of the US economy is about $27.36 trillion, while the Ugandan economy is worth approximately $45.813 billion. Together, symbiotic economic gains may easily be felt between the two countries.