Akon will be joining Pierce as the campaign’s Chief Strategist — both men share an interest in cryptocurrency
Akon, the singer, entrepreneur and philanthropist behind the fully crypto-powered Akon City project has announced that he will be endorsing independent candidate Brock Pierce for US President.
In addition, Akon will also be joining his 2020 campaign team as Pierce’s Chief Strategist.
Pierce stated that the celebrity’s work in Africa, as well as his experience as a businessman and an artist, were a part of why he wanted to add Akon to his campaign.
Akon called Pierce a “standup guy” who “doesn’t operate between party lines”.
“We share the same dream of pushing America forward for everyone without showing favoritism to one particular base,” he said.
Brock Pierce is a crypto venture capitalist and a co-founder of the cryptocurrency Tether. He is also a chairman of the nonprofit Bitcoin Foundation and part of Forbes’ first-ever list of wealthiest crypto investors in the world in 2018.
Beyond the cryptocurrency industry, Pierce is known for his roles as a child actor in The Mighty Ducks and First Kid.
Previously, Pierce shared that one of his main campaign strategies for 2020 was to draw away electoral votes from Joe Biden and Donald Trump. This is the only way for Pierce to secure the presidency because he announced his campaign in early July after the deadline for filing candidacy for independents had passed in Texas, New Mexico, Indiana, and North Carolina.
If Trump or Biden fails to win 270 or more of the electoral votes, then the US House of Representatives gets the final vote of the top three presidential candidates, which might include Pierce.
“Entrepreneurs are essential to the rebuilding of this nation that we love, and I’m running in this race because I know that together we can help build a pathway towards the rebirth of America we love so much,” Pierce said at the time of his campaign announcement.
Akon’s participation in Pierce’s campaign is expected to lead to even more exposure to the media and help shine a spotlight on cryptocurrencies as an issue during the elections.
Pierce’s campaign manager is Brittany Kaiser, the Cambridge Analytica whistleblower who publicised Facebook’s complicity in helping the Trump campaign in 2016.
Akon has been working on the development and construction of Akon City, a crypto project in Senegal spanning over 2,000 acres that will be “powered by” Akoin, the utility token designed for the African market.