In this week’s LFG! podcast I caught up with Aquarius Maximus, founder of Guapcoin, a cryptocurrency built for the African diaspora. Aquarius has a fascinating story to tell, having launched the coin in 2017 and observed its progress while crypto markets and narratives have moved in every direction imaginable.

I’ve been fascinated by Aquarius’s work for a long time. Guapcoin was created when the possibilities of crypto and decentralised finance were first being explored (the term ‘DeFi’ was coined in 2018), and launching a new currency took far more time and effort than it does today.

This is a crypto conversation that’s detached from memecoins and ‘line goes up, line goes down’. Instead, it’s a story of trying to build around community and collaboration, and an insight into the many factors that can determine the success of a crypto project.

Aquarius is an active builder beyond Guapcoin. She also discusses Melanated AI, a project designed to represent black voices and data as the influence of AI continues to grow. Likewise, we touch upon Kowrii Bank, and the challenges presented by a launch that coincided with the collapse of FTX.

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