Defiant developers behind a morbid cryptocurrency based on the number of victims falling prey to coronavirus have denied they are ‘cashing in on death’.

The mainly anonymous group which created the CoronaCoin – a token claiming to be “backed by proof of death” – say their project is designed to educate the public about the disease.

They even claim that 20% of all funds will be donated to the Red Cross and its efforts to assist in controlling the spread of Covid-19.

However, the brazen boasts of its links to the coronavirus mortality rate on the crypto’s website have attracted huge criticism – something the token’s bosses dismiss, saying their work is no different to a bond scheme run by the World Health Organisation.

“The World Health Organisation currently offers an official pandemic

bond,” CoronaCoin’s Sunny Kemp told Coin Rivet.

“Is that immoral? Just google ‘WHO pandemic bond’”.

The group refers to the establishment of a common bond scheme among large financial institutions designed to mitigate the economic impact of global disasters.

While such bonds are often derided, economists the world over largely agree on the requirement for such financial back-up.

Few, however, would draw reasonable comparisons between the mitigation bonds and a cryptocurrency which ‘burns’ tokens in accordance with how many cases of a potentially fatal virus are confirmed.

“Insurance is also morbid,” defends the developer – one of several based across Europe who are running coronatoken.org.

“We had no ICO, did not raise funds from the public, do not sell coins to the public directly, and actively airdrop free coins to our community.

“Additionally, the fact that tokens can be traded on the market is secondary to the purpose of this blockchain, and we are building DAPPs to educate the public about the spread of the virus.”

Red Cross

The group says it has also made its first payment to the Red Cross, although this has yet to be confirmed by the international relief agency.

“We are starting at one Ethereum per day and will go up from there as the value of our token increases,” the developer told us.

Despite the morally-questionable basis of CoronaCoin, its founders claim they have had “an incredible response”.

“Most people are fascinated by the idea of a Proof of Death blockchain,” added Sunny Kemp.

“We get a lot of questions about how it all works – we are nearing 1,000 members in our Discord, over 600 Twitter followers, and 577 Telegram members.”

Discussing the rights and wrongs of basing a cryptocurrency supply on the number of cases and fatalities associated with coronavirus, the developer gave a blunt answer.

“We anticipate a token burn of up to 80%,” he said.

“Apart from Coronacoin’s utility in recording the virus on the blockchain, we also have tip bots, a game, and blockchain applications in the pipeline.

“We believe these applications will ensure value long into the future.”

The latest information from the World Health Organisation places the number of infections as rapidly approaching 100,000 with more than 3,000 deaths linked to the virus.

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