John McAfee Says He Is Launching His Own 'Freedom' Cryptocurrency

John McAfee, the famous and infamous security pioneer and cryptocurrency enthusiast, is set to launch his own eponymously named currency, the McAfee Freedom Coin, this fall.

A white paper is forthcoming, but on the currency’s webpage, McAfee said that the coin is not subject to relative price setting mechanisms of other fiat currencies or digital assets.

“The McAfee Freedom Coin is designed to confront the problem of exchange head-on... It is not based on any commodity nor is it connected to the value or behavior of any external item or entity. The value of the coin will always be zero in relation to any other currency yet it’s natural market value is free, completely, to grow,” McAfee wrote.

This is part of a greater vision of a cryptomarket detached from the “fear, greed, manipulation and the vagaries of external economic conditions.” By eliminating the exchange value of the Freedom coin, McAfee hopes to create the first digit currency valued for its purchasing power alone.

He writes:

In keeping with this goal, McAfee said in a subsequently deleted tweet, Freedom coin will not not be launched through an ICO, will not be mined or airdropped, and will not be listed on crypto exchanges. This may have something to do with McAfee's alleged fear of SEC threats for his previous ICO support.

While the underlying technologies are not new, McAfee says, “the uniqueness comes from a new approach to understanding the evolution of cryptocurrency and the mechanisms that have kept the Holy Grail of cryptocurrency - economic freedom - out of our reach.”

Many commenters got right to the point. McAffee, for his part, is onto bolder and brighter things [NSFW link] leaving us all with more questions than answers.

Image via CoinDesk archives.