Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/MazaCoin (5th nomination)


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was no consensus. Star  Mississippi  02:51, 19 July 2022 (UTC)

MazaCoin
AfDs for this article:


 * – ( View AfD View log | edits since nomination)

Cryptocoin with limited adoption and even less press coverage. Still appears to be in development. Regardless fails WP:GNG and does not show lasting coverage Slywriter (talk) 14:34, 25 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Cryptocurrency-related deletion discussions. Shellwood (talk) 14:45, 25 June 2022 (UTC)

Keep per the significant coverage in multiple independent reliable sources.  The article notes: "In early 2014, a number of media outlets in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom published a series of stories about how a Native American tribe, the Oglala Lakota Nation, had adopted something called MazaCoin as its national currency. MazaCoin, a digital currency, was to act as a medium of exchange in and beyond the Lakota Nation. ... MazaCoin, according to its developer, Payu Harris, was going to dramatically increase the Lakota Nation’s autonomy and financial wealth. ... Shortly after these news reports came out, Oglala Lakota Nation officials quickly distanced themselves from Harris and MazaCoin. Some leaders proclaimed that they had never heard of MazaCoin while others remarked that they were simply working with the developers to explore its potential for addressing their community’s needs (Vigna 2014). More recently, however, it has become evident that the Oglala Lakota Nation will likely never adopt MazaCoin as its national currency. MazaCoin's developers have made it clear on their website that they now plan to expand the scope of the cryptocurrency beyond its original purpose (https://mazacoin.org)."  The abstract notes: "This paper examines the rise and fall of one alt-finance system: MazaCoin, a Bitcoin variant intended to benefit the Oglala Lakota of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The story of MazaCoin is one of an attempt to unite two apparently divergent sociotechnical assemblages: (1) a libertarian, elite technology of cryptocurrency, and (2) a richly traditional indigenous community with a deep desire for cultural survivance, bound up in a precarious economy left behind in the wake of more than a century of genocide."  The book notes that MazaCoin has a market cap of $64,112, its current value is $0.000126, and its creation date was 27 February 2014. The book notes: "MazaCoin is one of the most intriguing examples of how a cryptocurrency can be successfully introduced and adopted. Founder Payu Harris wanted the coin to demonstrate greater fiscal autonomy for the Native American communities. There was no deliberate airdrop of the currency, and the amounts were regulated and released at fixed intervals, under the stewardship of Kimitsu Asset Management. Additional premined coins are either withheld or placed in a trust fund to maintain stability of the MazaCoin. The way in which it was publicized was also very organized, with good supply of information, regular news updates, and constant redevelopment of tools such as wallets and hardware receivers. One of the possibl ereasons why MazaCoin has been more successful than most other national coins is that it belongs to a sovereign state and not a legislated nation with its own fiat currency. This means that it appeals to a specific demographic that does not have to compete with an established common currency, and the coin appears to fulfill a previously unmet need."  The article notes: "John Carter McKnight, a sociology research associate at England’s Lancaster University, cautions against the use of cryptocurrencies. McKnight is researching alternative currencies for tribal nations. ... McKnight agrees with the ideas behind cryptocurrency – keeping money local and promoting financial and technical literacy – but he does not believe the MazaCoin is a good move for the Lakota Nation. “Alternative finance arrangement for tribes is brilliant and can be transformative,” he said. “Building sovereignty is a good idea, but for a community that doesn’t have money to blow, I don’t know that I would consider cryptocurrency a responsible decision.”"  The article notes: "But one Lakota Indian hopes his nation will take a different approach: he hopes to make a digital currency the tribe's official currency. It's called mazacoin, and the man who developed it, Payu Harris, wants to make it the official currency of the Lakota Nation, a semi-autonomous North American Indian reservation in South Dakota. Officially launched in February, its market cap of $3.3 million places it 20th among alternative currencies (there are more than 200 "alt-coins," although most have marginal significance)."  The article notes: "While the leadership of the Lakota nation has signed off on adopting MazaCoin as a national currency, there is resistance within the ranks. Digital currencies are not always an easy sell, especially to older generations who are not accustomed to using apps constantly throughout the day. A further complication is that not all tribal members have internet access or smartphones, which means Harris has to develop a paper wallet system where members’ MazaCoins are held in cold storage at a central location like a bank. In theory members can walk into the bank, get their MazaCoins in a paper wallet that can be processed by reservation businesses, then return the balance to digital storage at the bank before driving home."</li> <li> The article notes: "A confederation of seven Sioux tribes in the US have created a digital currency similar to bitcoin and adopted it as their official national tender. The Oglala Lakota Nation (notable members of which include Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse; the chieftain who secured a victory over General George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn) has launched MazaCoin in the hopes that it will help to lift the tribe out of poverty. ... MazaCoin is what is known as a "fork" of bitcoin derivative ZetaCoin, although unlike bitcoin it is inflationary, meaning that new coins can be mined over time. The Oglala Lakota Nation has pre-mined 25 million MazaCoins to serve as a national reserve with another 25 million coins set aside for a Tribal Trust, an organization that will issue grants to local businesses and tribe members."</li> <li> The article notes: "In South Dakota, the Oglala Lakota Nation has become the first Native American tribe to launch its own form of virtual currency. Payu Harris, its creator, calls it mazacoin. ... Pete Earle, chief economist of Humint, a firm that develops crypto-currencies, says mazacoin can provide the Lakota Tribe with a new spectrum of economic possibilities. ... Earle says the Lakota could even use mazacoin as a way of rewarding outside groups that support the tribe's best interests. But he points out that for the currency to have any value, there has to first be a market for it."</li> <li> The article notes: "But programmer and native American activist Payu Harris has a plan to lift his tribe out of this hardship: a Bitcoin-style digital currency called MazaCoin that he designed specifically for the Lakota. Merchants across the reservation will accept MazaCoin for everyday transactions. The currency may be purchased with dollars and traded through smart phones or computers."</li> </ol>There is sufficient coverage in reliable sources to allow MazaCoin to pass Notability, which requires "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject". Cunard (talk) 22:37, 25 June 2022 (UTC) </li></ul>
 * Interestingly virtually nothing listed above is covered in the article. Instead, we have sources linked to the promoter of the coin giving an entirely different viewpoint on it. Additionally, note that all coverage is in a very short time frame and the one 2015 article, uses the promoter as a source. I still think this is a fad coin that got a brief moment of coverage with no lasting notability, but will look to incorporate the above to give an accurate representation to readers of the coin. Slywriter (talk) 00:24, 26 June 2022 (UTC)
 * and were published in the peer-reviewed academic journals Canadian Journal of Law and Society and First Monday. They provide a longer-term view of MazaCoin than the 2014 articles and show that it has received sustained coverage. The Alcantara source notes, "In early 2014, a number of media outlets in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom published a series of stories about how a Native American tribe, the Oglala Lakota Nation, had adopted something called MazaCoin as its national currency. ... More recently, however, it has become evident that the Oglala Lakota Nation will likely never adopt MazaCoin as its national currency." The Tekobbe source notes, "This paper examines the rise and fall of one alt-finance system: MazaCoin, a Bitcoin variant intended to benefit the Oglala Lakota of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation." Thank you for your plan to incorporate these sources into the article. Cunard (talk) 00:31, 26 June 2022 (UTC)

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, North America1000 08:01, 3 July 2022 (UTC)
 * - Note to closer for soft deletion: While this discussion appears to have no quorum, it is NOT eligible for soft deletion because it was previously discussed at AfD and the result was keep.
 * Previous discussions:  ←   ←   ←
 * --Cewbot (talk) 00:17, 3 July 2022 (UTC)
 * <p class="xfd_relist" style="margin:0 0 0 -1em;border-top: 1px solid #AAA; border-bottom: 1px solid #AAA; padding: 0px 2em;"> Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks,  Arbitrarily0   ( talk ) 22:04, 11 July 2022 (UTC)
 * Delete passing mentions and appears to have no traction since. Oaktree b (talk) 15:16, 3 July 2022 (UTC)
 * <p class="xfd_relist" style="margin:0 0 0 -1em;border-top: 1px solid #AAA; border-bottom: 1px solid #AAA; padding: 0px 2em;"> Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. <b style="color:red">Please do not modify it.</b> Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.